911
by Shia F
Summary: Percy and Annabeth has been best friends since first grade. A certain explosion leaves them living in an orphanage causing them to be even closer than ever before. Slight Percabeth. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Percy's POV**

_Ring, ring._

I picked up my phone. "Hello?" I mumbled into it.

"Percy? Are you up yet?" My best friend, Annabeth said on the other end.

"I'm up now." I grumbled sitting up on my bed.

"Oh come on, Percy. It's already eight am."

"Not everybody wakes up early on weekends, Wise Girl." I said. "So, what's up?"

"What do you mean 'what's up'? Don't you know what day it is today?" I could almost hear her smirk through the phone.

"Why? What's today? Is it my birthday?" I said sarcastically.

"Well, yes, it actually is. It's September 11 already, Seaweed Brain." She retorted.

"Oh, really? It totally slipped my mind. Well greet me then."

"Why do you thing I called?"

"Well go on. Greet me Happy birthday."

"Isn't reminding you it's your birthday enough?"

"Nope" I grinned.

"Fine" she grumbled "Happy birthday, Seaweed Brain."

"Aww, you remembered." I said sarcastically. "Gee, thanks. Why do you call me Seaweed brain anyway?"

"My, aren't you forgetful today. Annabeth said. Captain of the swim team, third time gold medalist and fastest swimmer in school? Remember? That and because your head is filled with kelp."

"Haha,"

"You know you love it."

"Sure." I heard my mom call my name in the background. "I got to go."

"Yeah, you better go downstairs." Annabeth replied. "See ya."

I went downstairs not bothering to change the clothes I slept in.

"Happy birthday!" My mom shouted from the kitchen, holding up platter of blue chocolate chip cookies. To my surprise, Annabeth was behind her, holding up a blue cake.

"Surprise!" She said, grinning at me.

"Annabeth!" I grinned back. "You were here the whole time?"

"Yup." She beamed at me. "I was here since six. I helped your mom bake. We all know how much you love blue food."

"Mm hmm." I said, stuffing my face with cookies.

We ate the cake and cookies for breakfast. It was so good.

"So, Percy." Mom said. "You're a teenager!"

"Finally." Annabeth added. Her birthday was on August 18 so that made her a month older than me. And she never let's me forget it.

"My son's a teenager!" Mom said dabbing her eyes pretending there were tears falling. "Soon you'll graduate. Then get a job. And before you know it, he's married moving out. And leaving me!"

"Mom!" I protested.

Annabeth laughed. "Soon enough, Percy will be having white hair, have five grandchildren and walk around with a cane." She imitated an old man

W e all chuckled.

"Well, Percy, I can't get out of work today. I'm really sorry. I really wanted to spend more time with you today but I can't afford to skip work."

I nodded. Ever since my dad left us when I was a baby, my mom has been working nonstop. She always tries to find time for me but our family isn't exactly rich. Especially because Gabe Ugliano, our landlord, is always finding some excuse to raise the call him Mr. Ugly or Smelly Gabe. Seriously, that guy reeks.

"Considering you are not a child anymore," mom continued "would you like to go to the office with me today? You could get anything you want from the vending machine and we could get ice cream from that place next to the world trade canter."

"I'd like that." I smiled. Sure, go ahead call me what ever you want. Dork. Mama's boy. But I'm willing to jump at any chance to spend time with her.

"How about you Annabeth?" Mom asked her. "Want to come?"

"I'd like to Mrs. Jackson but I have a ton of homework to do." She replied. "Which reminds me, I have to go. Thanks for having me over Mrs. Jackson. Bye, Percy!" She left.

We took the subway going to the World Trade Center. We went to my mom's office.

"Mom, can I have money for Cherry Coke? I saw one at the vending machine."

"Try not to take in to much sugar." My mom said handing me a dollar

I got my soda and my mom pulled out a bottle of blue food coloring out of her purse. She put a few drops and we watched the Coke turn a violent shade of cobalt. I grinned. I helped myself to candy from the vendo.

A few hours later, my mom looked up from her paper work.

"Percy, would you mind getting lunch? There's a Mcdonalds a few blocks away. Here" She handed me money. Get me chicken nuggets. You could get whatever you want."

I walked to Mcdonalds. It wasn't that far. I got myself a Big Mac and chicken nuggets for mom. But I only took a few steps when I saw the World Trade Center explode before my eyes.

**A/N: I'm not that sure about the details of the 9/11 thing so I just made most of them up. And I know that Percy's birthday is at August but for this story, I needed to change it. Please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Annabeth's POV**

I sat on my bed, trying to concentrate on Algebra. But the numbers just keep floating away. I hate dyslexia. It's a condition that Percy and I both share. But, as Percy always points out, that doesn't keep me from being to in class.

_5(x+(-2y)+78=46_

Sighing, I snapped the book shut. I needed a break. I went downstairs to get a drink of water. I still can't get used to the eerie silence. I'm used to hearing my brother playing with the babysitter. But the baby sitter had to go because of lack of income. Matthew is not really my brother. He's my cousin but we took him in when my aunt died last summer.

My dad says I'm responsible enough of taking care of Matt myself but I'm still underage. So his boss lets him take Matt to work sometimes.

I went back upstairs and too out a box lying beside my bed. Inside is a leather bead necklace identical to mine. I'm thinking of giving it to Percy, but I'm afraid he'll think it's dumb. I fingered my own. I wear it all the time since Percy gave it to me on my seventh birthday. And every year he'll give me another bead. So far, I had six. Each bead had a different picture on it. Most of them would have pictures of Greek Mythology on it. Percy knows how much I love Ancient Greece. The culture, the architecture, the awesome legends.

Percy and I have been best friends since we were seven. We lived a couple blocks away, go to the same school and our parents both work in the World Trade Center, so it was impossible for us not to be friends. He always defends me when all those other kids call me a nerd (Not that I have a problem for sticking up for myself!) And I try to help him with his homework.

Someone was knocking on the door disrupting my thoughts. I got up and walked to the front door. I guess Dad's home early.

I opened the door. Two cops were waiting outside.

Surprised, I jumped back.

The skinny one cleared his throat. "Are you-" He checked his list. "Annabeth Chase? Fredrick Chase's daughter?

I nodded nervously.

"The World Trade Center was assassinated. It exploded."

My eyes widened. "Is my dad hurt? Is Matthew okay?"

The second cop spoke up. "I'm sorry, Ms. Chase. I won't beat around the bush. They're dead."

_ No! This is NOT happening. No…_

__**A/N: I mentioned earlier on that a drop of food coloring can turn Coke blue. And now I tested it myself (I wanted to see why Percy likes it so much.), it's not true. The Coke just stays brown. Haha. Now, I'm off to 7 eleven to find Blue Cherry Coke. Wish me luck!**

**And there will be slight angst on tis story. Just sayin'.**

**To all of you Percabeth die hards out there, there this will only be SLIGHT Percabeth, as I mentioned before. Not the yucky, sappy, mushy goo you guys are addicted too. Sorry!**

**Review! Please? It makes me happy. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Percy's POV**

"Mom? Mom!" I ran toward the burning building. I know this is the worst possible thing to do but I just had to find her. Coughing, I made my way to the twisted metal, smoking ashes and blackened debris that was once the World Trade Center.

I tried to get nearer but people held me back. They told me it was hopeless. That I won't see her again. I didn't listen to them. I wouldn't listen to them. I tried to fight, to break of from their grasp.

Tears blurred my eyes. I was sobbing now, like a little kid. In front of millions of people. But I didn't care. I just wanted her here. I just wanted my mom.' I want her here, beside me. I was screaming for her, calling for her to come out from the smoke. But she didn't. Instead everything turned black.

* * *

><p>I woke up, gasping. I looked around the room. I saw familiar blue wall paper. I was on a bed. My bed. I was in my room.<p>

_ Thank goodness that was just a dream. A nightmare that might haunt me forever; but a dream nonetheless._

Sighing with relief I stood up and went downstairs.

But when I went downstairs, I couldn't find her. Instead I found a police officer who was apparently waiting for me to get up.

Panic rushed in. It wasn't a dream. It was real. She's dead and now I'm alone. With no one at all.

"No!" I shouted, turning to run, but the cop grabbed my arm.

"Look, I know this is a really hard time for you. But you are going to the orphanage soon and you only have a few hours to pack. So if I were you, I'll go get my stuff." He told me in a friendly but firm voice.

I swallowed my misery and went upstairs to pack. It took only an hour, since I didn't have that much stuff. I gathered all the pictures I had of my mom and me.

I looked at the most recent one. It was taken only this morning. It shows Annabeth and I stuffing ourselves with cake, grinning at the camera and my mom laughing beside us. A lump formed in my throat. Was that really just this morning? It seemed like lifetimes ago. I'll never have that life back.

I took one last glance around the room. Somehow, I knew that I'll never see this place again.

Turning to go, I saw something that caught my eye. It was a small blue box sitting on top of my dresser. Beside it was a note. My mom always leaves my birthday gifts there. With shaking fingers, I picked up the box. I read the note. Here's what it says:

_Dear Percy,_

_Happy Birthday! I can't believe that my little boy is now a teenager. I'm looking forward to watching you grow up to be the amazing young man you are. This is the only thing I have from your father. Please be careful with it. It's the only thing we have to remind us of him. I'm sure if your father can see you now, he'll be very proud. In fact, with your black hair and green eyes, you look just like him!_

_Love, Mom_

I opened the box. It was a ballpoint pen. That's it. It's a standard black ink pen that you can get anywhere for fifty cents. That's all I have to remember my parents by. I got furious at all of this. My mom did not deserve this. She was the kindest person I knew. I really wanted to hurl the box against the hurl wall. But instead, I gently put it in my suitcase.

I turned to the police officer. "I'm ready to go."

**A/N: I did not find blue Cherry Coke. :(**

**Please review!**

** Oh, and I almost forgot:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of this story. But I own everything else.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Annabeth's POV**

They're dead… Those two words changed my life. They keep ringing in my head. They're dead. I simply cannot understand that they're gone. Forever.

Before I left, I went to my dad's room. I picked up his old college ring and strung it through my leather necklace. During the car trip going to the orphanage they were all I can think about. I thought about how my dad would smile at me when I tell him that I aced another history exam. Or about how Matt would call me "Ayabef".

A lady came and gave me a tour around the orphanage. But I wasn't really listening. I was thinking of my best friend. He's probably dead too. Everyone I know and love died. I could feel myself dying too. Oh, Percy…

I could see people see people staring at me. I had to get myself together. I kept the tears from flowing. I had to be brave.

That put me in a room I had to share with this girl. She wasn't here yet so I had the room to myself. My head was aching. I had a huge lump in my throat.

Now that I could, I willed the tears to fall. Just to get it out of my system. But I found my eyes dry. I simply didn't have enough energy to cry. I just stared glumly at the door. That's how Mrs. Dare found me. She came in and told me that a Perseus Jackson was looking for me.

_Percy! He's alive?_ I felt part of the burden on my shoulders evaporate, giving me enough energy to jump up and run to his room.

"Percy!" I gave him a quick hug. "You're okay!"

He looked at me. "I wouldn't say that."

I looked at him in the eyes. "Percy, what happened back there?"

"I don't want to talk about it.

"Please, Percy." I pleaded. "I thought you were- you were…" I felt my voice cracking.

He looked at me and sighed. "We were at the office. She told me to go and get us lunch. I left. The building exploded. And just like that she's gone"

"I'm so sorry Percy."

"This is my fault." He said softly.

"Don't be crazy. Of course it's not your fault. You didn't assassinate the building."

"But at least I could've asked her to come with me. Then she'll be here. She'll be okay."

I know I was being pushy. But I can't let him think these dangerous thoughts.

"You didn't know." I reached out to him.

"It doesn't matter." He pulled away.

"None of that. Next time you know it, these dangerous thoughts will cause you to suicide." I joked weakly.

"It would have been better if I just died with her."

_Those words burned through my heart. He thinks it's better if I was left alone?_

"Percy-"

"No, Annabeth. You don't know how it feels like."

"Don't know how it feels like?" I was really furious now. "I don't know? It's you who doesn't know! You don't know how it feels like to be told that all your loved ones died. You don't know how it feels like to think that your dad, your brother and your best friend died in just one wretched afternoon. You don't know how it feels like to open the front door, expecting your family but instead it was cops saying that your family died and that you'll have to move to an orphanage."

Tears were streaming down my cheeks now, no matter how hard I tried to stop it. "Now I'll never see Mathew take his first steps. I'll never see my dad's face when I graduate and get my diploma. I'll never see them again. You don't know how it feels like, Percy, You don't!"

**Please review! This is my first hurt and comfort story and I need to know what you think about it. Because I don't know if it's worth continuing.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Percy's POV**

Annabeth was sobbing now. Her shoulders were shaking as she furiously wiped her tears.

"I have to go." She choked out between sobs. She turned and ran to her room.

She left a box at my bed. I picked it up, hoping to return it to her later. I looked at the tag. It was addressed to me:

To: Percy

From: Annabeth

Well,well, well. Seaweed Brain's finally a teenager! Remember the necklace you gave me when I was seven? I made you an exact replica. It could be our friendship bracelets except in necklace form or something. Don't look at me like that, it's a brilliant idea! Anyway, happy birthday.

* * *

><p>I put the necklace around my neck.<p>

Man, was I being selfish. In my grief, I forgot that Annabeth was suffering too. She was trying to help me but I pushed her away. I feel so horrible. Well, more horrible anyway.

I knocked at her door. When she didn't answer, I swung the door open. She was huddled on her bed, her head on her knees.

"Annabeth?" I gently put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up. "Percy?" Her golden curly blonde hair was plastered to her face. her normally intimidating gray eyes were filled with tears.

"You're wearing the necklace." She gave me a small smile.

"Yeah. I love it."

"You'd better, Seaweed Brain. You don't know how much time I out into that thing." She punched my shoulder playfully.

"I would think it took as much time as the one I made for you." I shoved her back.

She laughed then went all distant again.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry for being so insensitive earlier."

"It's fine, Percy." She fingered a gold ring strung through her necklace. "It's just that..." Her voice trailed off.

"You miss him, huh?"

She nodded "I miss both of them." she said in a small voice.

"I miss her too." I replied.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay, Seaweed Brain." She gave me that small smile again.

"Me too." I realized something just then. I didn't lose everything from my old life. I still had Annabeth.

I hugged her.

"Percy?" She said burying her face on my shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Promise me that you won't leave me." She whispered.

"I promise."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I didn't want to post today but it's a special occasion. Happy birthday, Thalia! Winter Solstice is today! **

**Please, please review! I only got two on the last chapter. Flames, criticism and anonymous reviews are accepted. Any review is much appreciated. I won't be posting till next year. (By that I mean a week from now.) Merry Christmas, everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Annabeth's POV**

A girl rushed into the room. She looked at us sheepishly. She had spiky black hair, stormy blue eyes and wore punk style clothes.

"Oh." She said. "You must be my new roommate. Annabeth, right? I'm Thalia."

"Um, hi." Percy said awkwardly stepping back form me.

"Great. My thirteen years old roommate already has a boyfriend." Thalia said. "Isn't it a bit too early for that?"

"What boyfriend!" Percy piped up. "Annabeth doesn't have a boyfriend!"

I shot Percy a dirty look. "I could speak for myself, thank you very much. But yeah, I don't have one."

"Then who's he then?" Thalia shot a look a Percy, confused.

"That's just Percy. My best friend." I said, blushing at what she implied.

"Sure." Thalia didn't look convinced.

"Percy Jackson." Percy stuck out his hand.

Thalia studied him before shaking his hand. "Thalia Grace. But don't call me 'Grace' if you value your two front teeth."

Percy shifted uncomfortably. I laughed.

"I like this girl." Thalia nodded at me.

"Me too." Percy looked at me fondly. Then he seemed to realize what he just said. "I mean- I don't mean it that way. I just meant-"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Thalia said ignoring Percy's blushing. I just came in here to tell you that it's time for dinner. I'll meet you at the Mess hall in a few." She marched straight to the bathroom.

"I like her." I commented.

"I don't know." Percy said. "She's seems a little scary."

"Is Pewcy afwaid?" I mocked him.

"Never."

"Well, your two front teeth should be if we're not at the Mess hall in a couple of minutes. Come on."

Just as Thalia promised, she met us at the Mess hall after a few minutes. The mess hall was an outdoor pavilion. There were dozens of picnic tables. It had torches on marble columns. It looked pretty cool. Except no roof or walls. Weird…

"What do you do when it rains?" Percy asked, voicing out what I was thinking.

Thalia looked at Percy as if he went crazy or something. "We still have to eat, don't we?" Then she laughed as Percy and I exchanged confused glances. "Just kidding. They put up tents."

She led us to a table and went off to load her plate. Percy and I did the same. The food was great! And they had pretty much any drink you can think of. Percy even found some blue Cherry Coke.

After eating, (Percy and I didn't have much of an appetite.) Thalia introduced us to other kids. She grabbed my arm and dragged us to a table.

"Okay, everybody. Listen up! This is Annabeth Chase and that's Percy Jackson. They're thirteen years old. Thalia said. Now introduce yourselves. Names and ages."

A sandy haired boy came up first. He wore beach clothes. He was good looking except for a thin white scar running from his cheek to his chin. "Hey, Percy, Annabeth. I'm Luke Castellan. I'm seventeen."

A girl came up next. She wore a nondescript shirt and jeans and a green floppy hat. "I'm Bianca Di Angelo. Twelve."

A boy walked up next to Bianca. He wore camo shorts and an aviator jacket. He had Bianca's olive skin and dark eyes. They looked so alike that it was impossible that they weren't related. "Nico. Eleven. Her brother." He said, not bothering to look up from his cards.

"How 'bout you Thalia? How old are you?" I asked.

"I'm sixteen." She replied.

"You don't look sixteen." Percy commented.

"Thalia looks younger, right? Like, maybe, fourteen? That's because she ages slow. Just like a tree." Nico pointed out.

"Okay, that didn't make sense at all." Thalia muttered.

Soon, we were chatting like old friends. Nico was actually really talkative, once you asked him about his Mythomagic cards. We ate s'mores, using one of the torches as a bonfire. Nico actually tried to get everyone sing campfire songs. (No one did, He sang solo anyway.) All in all, they actually made me feel at home. Hmm, maybe life here won't be that bad after all.

**A/N I know I said I'm going to post next year, but I miss you guys so much. That and because I didn't have much to do this Christmas break. Anyway Nico is not OC in this chapter. This is how he acted like before Bianca's death. And don't forget to review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Percy's POV**

Days passed by like a blur. I felt as if my mom just put me in a summer camp and I'll see her in a few weeks. Everyone helped me forget that my mom just died. I could always count on Annabeth for a shoulder to cry on. Thalia gives me static shocks (she's really good at that) whenever I start to stare at the distance and begin to think about my mom. Luke and Bianca would always give out their sympathies but the one who helps the most is Nico. He's always so talkative, so goofy so carefree. He never gets embarrassed and he always sticks up to whatever he likes. He'll talk to you about Mythomagic for hours and not stop even though you tell him you think it's dumb. He's so childish and happy even though he's in an orphanage. And he always cracks us up every time he does his hopelessly-out-of-tune rendition of Home on the Range whenever we sneak out for s'mores.

During one of our s'mores session, I couldn't help but notice Annabeth staring at Luke weirdly. I sat down beside her. "I know that look." I told her "What's up?"

"Oh, it's nothing." She responded. "He's just so familiar. I just can't remember."

"Can't remember?" I feigned a gasp. "The Annabeth Chase forgetting something? Quick! Call the news reporters. This is a breakthrough in American history!"

"Why don't you just ask him?"

Annabeth blushed. "Umm…"

"Oh. I get it." I snickered. "You like him."

Do not! She protested.

"Hey, you guys!" I said loudly, ignoring Annabeth's deathly glares penetrating my face. "You already know that Annabeth and I came from NY. How 'bout you guys?"

"Nico and I came from California." Bianca volunteered.

"LA." Thalia said, munching on a graham cracker.

"Virginia." Luke replied. "I ran away shortly after my mom and I moved to Connecticut."

"Virginia?" Annabeth piped up. "Now I remember. Luke, don't you remember? We were neighbors in Virginia."

"Now that you've mentioned it, I did think you looked familiar. You look so different now, Annie." Luke gave her a quick hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Annabeth replied. "And don't call me Annie!"

"I remember telling me that when you were younger. Luke laughed. "You used to hit me every time I did. And I have to say, they really hurt."

"Wait, you guys knew each other before meeting here?" Thalia broke in.

"Yeah. Luke was my best friend before moving to New York." Annabeth said, looking at Luke. "He was like my big brother." Luke gave her hand a squeeze.

I was getting uncomfortable so I decided to change the subject. "Hey, is it just me or this orphanage is way too awesome? Not that I'm complaining or anything but this mess hall alone is way too amazing for an orphanage."

"This is not just an orphanage. It's also a boarding school. Besides, this is just one of the Dare's charity projects. They're like multibillionaires who own this huge company who destroyed a lot of nature or whatever it was called. So they have lots of charity works to clean up after it. I heard that this was just a birthday gift to Rachel." Thalia explained.

"Rachel?" asked Annabeth.

"She's their daughter." Thalia replied. "She's about your age, actually."

"So, what's she like?" I wondered out loud.

Thalia looked away thoughtfully. "She goes to school here. So I'll leave you to find that out for yourself."

**A/N Ooh. Cliffhanger. Kind off. Well, you know the drill. Review, review, REVIEW! Please?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Annabeth's POV**

"…series of four coordinated suicide attacks upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. areas on September 11, 2001. The destruction of the twin towers caused serious damage to the economy of Lower Manhattan and had a significant impact on global markets..."

"Why are you watching this?" Percy said from behind me, holding the tv remote control. "It just makes you feel more depressed."

"Give it back Percy!" I said, grabbing the remote control.

He snatched it back. "Stop watching this! You've been at it all afternoon."

I stopped struggling. "Being here makes me forget. I feel as though this is temporary, that

I'll see them in a few weeks. Watching this reminds me of what happened to them."

"Why don't you want to forget? Push them out of your mind." Percy said.

"I don't know. Maybe I just like facing my problem." I said slowly. "Instead of pushing them away and have them pop up again at night, like some people. Nico told me about your sleeping problems."

"What?" Percy replied. "The little jokester told you that I drool when I sleep?"

"Well, you do." I countered.

"Do not!" Percy said defensively. "But seriously though, he's right. I have trouble sleeping at night."

"Not just your insomnia, they also told me that you thrash around in your sleep and you wake up shouting."

"That's cause I relive that day every night. In my dreams, I watch my mom die over and over again."

"Well, you know that you can always talk to me about anything, right?"

"Thanks." Percy turned on the tv. "I'll try your method of for a week and I'll see what works better."

"Okay."

We watched together in silence for a few minutes. Then I turned to him.

"Hey, um Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"That's not the only reason I'm watching this."

"What?"

"Well, call me paranoid but I think there's more to this."

"You mean what happened to the World Trade Center?"

"Yeah, maybe the government is hiding something. Whatever it is, I hope they reveal it soon. I want to know what really happened to our parents."

"Me too."

"Hey, what if we find out ourselves? It might help take our minds of things. We could do some researching. Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes." I agreed.

**A/N Hey, I'm back! I researched on what happened to the World Trade Center and stuff and it's really interesting. Some of the facts in this story are true and the others are made up to fit in with the plot. So it's up to you to figure out which is which. **

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Percy's POV**

"Oh, look. Percy." Thalia said. "There she is. Go talk to her."

"No way. I like to keep a low profile during my first day of school." I replied sliding my lunch tray across the table and sitting beside Thalia. "Besides, I'm sure she's one of those popular kids who don't talk to nobodies like me."

Thalia responded by giving me a static shock.

"Ow!" I yelped. "What was that for?"

" A headstart. Hurry, you have, like, fifteen minutes until third period." Thalia shoved me out of my chair.

"Okay, alright! I'm going."

I walked over to her. She had red curly hair and freckles splattered on her face. She wore a Van Gogh shirt and jeans that had little markings on it as if she enjoyed doodling on it on her spare time.

"Um, hey, Rachel..."

"Hey...guy I don't know." She said slowly.

"Oh, uh, Percy Jackson." I stuck out my hand awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you, Percy. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare." She shook my hand. "But you knew that. Are you new?"

I nodded.

"Oh, cool. Welcome to Goode High. I'm betting your one of those kids who were victims of the 9/11 tragedy thing. There are two of you, right?" She said rapid fast. "But you don't have to tell me about it. I know how you feel, losing your family and all. Well, you have my sympathies."

I nodded again. She talked so fast.

"Do you have Art Appreciation for third period?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Cause, I need you help on something."

"Huh?" I replied intelligently

"Here's what I need you to do..."

* * *

><p>"This will most likely get us in detention. But, hey, it's worth it. Dr. Boringis just so, well, boring. He takes art and turns it from awesome to dullsville, y'know?" Rachel handed me the glitter.<p>

"It's my first day, so I wouldn't know." I reminded her. "And is his name really Dr. Boring?"

"Yup. Fitting, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Well, I don't have anything to do later, so I can definitely risk detention."

"Good. You do it while I distract. Got it?"

"Got it."

I grabbed the bottle of glue and waited. Five minutes before class. Perfect.

I painted the teacher's chair with glue. Outside, I could hear Rachel chatting with Dr. Boring with her machine gun rapid way of hers.

Carefully, I sprinkled the hot pink glitters on the glue. Then I gave Rachel the signal.

Rachel led Dr. boring inside just as the bell rang. Students came rushing in.

"Good afternoon class. Today we will be learning about..." He droned on.

_Sit down!_ I thought. _Sit! Before the glue dries!_

He sat down.

Rachel and I exchanged mischievous smiles. All we had to do was wait. I counted to ten under my breath. He should be standing up by now. The plan was, once he stood up, his underside will be shiny with glitters and the whole class would laugh every time he turned around. But no, he was oblivious to the whole thing.

One, two, three, five minutes later, he did try to stand up. But his behind was stuck on the chair.

_Oh, no... This wasn't supposed to happen._

Then a loud ripping sound followed. White polka dotted boxers, now filled with glitter, was exposed to the classroom.

Everyone stayed quiet. No one moved. Then the whole class erupted with laughter.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing along too. I saw Rachel doubling over with laughter.

"Ms. Dare! Mr. Jackson!" Dr. Boring growled. "Detention!"

That pretty much silenced everyone.

"Now if you'll excuse me," he added sheepishly, "I have to go change my, um, underwear."

That got everyone going again.

* * *

><p>"Sorry for getting you in trouble, Percy. Especially since it's your first day." Rachel told me after class. I pretty much hung out with her the whole day. We were walking towards our lockers.<p>

"Hey, it's fine." I said. "It was totally worth it. Besides, I don't have anything important to do later."

"Was it worth getting detention?"

"Definitely."

"I'm with you on that."

I saw Annabeth walking down the hallway.

Oh, shoot. I _did_ have something important to do! Annabeth was counting on me to meet up to research on what happened on the 9/11 incident. I totally spaced out. What were her exact words again? Oh, yeah. It went something like this: "Meet me at the library after school. I need to show you something. Don't get in trouble or anything. I really need you here. This is really important."

I felt a sense of dread bubble in my stomach. I tried to avoid talking to her. But it was too late, she spotted me.

"Hey… Annabeth."

"Hey, Percy! You ready to go?" Annabeth smiled.

"Uh…" I didn't know what to say.

Turns out, I didn't have to. Rachel spoke up for me. "Sorry, Percy won't be going anywhere. He has detention with me."

Annabeth's smile disappeared. "So, it's true. You did play a prank on Dr. Boring. Percy, how could you? I told you to stay out of trouble."

"I'm sorry." Rachel broke in. "I talked him into this."

Annabeth looked irritated. "Who's she?" She gestured at Rachel.

"Oh, um. Rachel, Annabeth. Annabeth, Rachel." I introduced them.

"Oh." Annabeth said spitefully. "The rich girl."

Rachel looked hurt.

"Annabeth. You don't need to be mean. It's not her fault." I said, angrily.

"Oh, I'm being mean, am I?" Annabeth shot back. "If you didn't want to help, you could've just told me. No need for getting detention and all that."

"It's not like that-"

"Whatever, Percy. Look, finding out what happened to our parents might not be important to you. But it is for me." She said, turning to go.

"Annabeth-" I tried again.

She didn't even glance back. "I don't want to hear it. I don't need your help anyway. I could do it myself."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, you guys! I might not be able to post as often as before, I'm only allowed to use my laptop during Saturdays. But I promise I will post at least once a week. Anyway, please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Annabeth's POV**

_...I can do this... I don't need him. I could do it... No, I can't..._

I sighed. Two hours of flipping books and searching the internet came with fruitless results.

Sure, I found some interesting theories on the matter, but nothing concrete. Some of the witnesses claimed they saw something but I can't be sure. I could ask Percy but he already made it clear that he didn't want to help.

What really intrigued me though, was that they never found the body of the hi-jackers. Turns out, the place wasn't bombed like what I originally thought but it was crashed by hi jacked planes. But oddly, they never found the pilot's body. It was a suicide assassination, so his body must be in the ruble. If there was no pilot, how did the plane arrive? Perhaps by remote control? Or maybe some magical force?

I let my head fall on my desk. This is hopeless.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Annabeth, it's time for dinner."

"Not now, Thalia." I moaned not looking up.

"I know how you feel." Thalia said sympathetically. "I was in your shoes once. Sit up and I'll tell you a story."

I sat up. "Are you going to tell me how your parents died?"

"Yeah. Well, what happened to my mom, anyway. I never knew my dad."

"Oh." I said. "Go on."

"Well, my mom is this famous tv actress. But she couldn't handle fame. She's always pulling foolish stunts and she's always drunk. I remember we used to fight all the time." She paused.

"Then?" I prompt.

"There was an accident. A car accident. It's funny since there were no cars at that time. No witnesses. Just a smashed up car in the middle of the road."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I never liked her anyway." But Thalia's eyes told a different story. "Weirder thing was my mom was expecting a baby. I don't know, my mom just told me that my dad was visiting her secretly or something. We were going to name him Jason. She was driving home from the hospital, supposedly bringing Jason home. But after the car crash, he was never found."

"What happens next?"

"Well, I ran away. I tried to investigate on my own. I wanted to know what happened."

"Did you find out anything?"

"Nope. Eventually, I found Luke and somehow we ended up here." Thalia stood up. "Okay, story time's over. Hurry up. Now we are really late for dinner."

**A/N Please, please PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Percy's POV**

Annabeth won't talk to me after the whole detention incident. As soon as I got out of detention, I headed straight to her room to apologize. But then the dinner bell rang.  
><em>Oh, well. I'll just talk to her during dinner.<em>

I looked for her in the Mess Hall but I couldn't find her. I spotted Luke instead.

I sat down beside him. "Hey, Luke. Have you seen Annabeth?"

"Last time I saw her, she was on her way to the library." he bit down on his sandwich. "She seemed pretty upset."

"What's the big deal anyway?" I grumbled. "So I missed one research session. So what? There'll be others."

"It's not like that, Percy. If she's still the Annabeth I know then she's a stickler on this stuff. She doesn't throw the word 'important' around. If she says it's important, then it really is important." I opened my mouth to reply but he wasn't done yet. "Besides, I think you hanging out with Rachel is bothering her."

"Wha- Why?" I scoffed. Is she jealous?"

Luke bit his lip. "Annabeth is a little, ah, possessive of her friends. I think it's because of the constant change in her life. I'm not sure she can handle it."

I looked at him incredulously. This was Annabeth we're talking about. She can handle anything!

Luke continued. "I mean, besides you and me, I don't think she had much friends back then. Her dad and she keep moving around too much. Her mom left them when Annabeth was still really young. Her dad was a college professor back then, he was really busy. And lastly, the, um, unfortunate death of her family. I think that's too much to take."

I nodded, understanding. "So that's why she's so interested in architecture. She wants to build something permanent. Something that would last for a really long time. Something that won't change."

Luke nodded. "You've got to understand, Percy, she has this natural ability to take charge of any situation. An instinct to take control. But with her life like a rollercoaster, it's impossible to have control over anything."

I stood up. "Thanks, man. I'm gonna go find her."

I walked towards her room. I felt gratitude towards Luke. And also a bit of resentment. _How come he understands Annabeth so well?_ Dread spreads over me as another question pops up_. How come I don't?_

I reached her door. I was still considering if I had enough courage to knock when the door opens. It's not Annabeth.

"Hey, Thalia." I said. "Is Annabeth there?"

"Nope. She just left for the Mess Hall. Why?"

"I got to talk to her about something."

"Is it about Rachel?" She asked me.

"Uh huh." I said, surprised. "She told you?"

"Yup. She's pretty steamed about it too."

"Do you know why?" I asked. "I already asked Luke that but I want to hear your opinion."

Thalia cocked her head forward. "You really don't know, Percy?"

"No idea."

"Gosh." Thalia shook her head as if it was so obvious. "Boys are so dense."

* * *

><p><strong> AN You guys, please help me out. I really want to improve my writing so can you please review? If you want me to continue this story please leave a review on why you want me to continue and what I can do to improve. This could really help me. Thanks!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Annabeth's POV**

Months flew by quickly and before we knew it, it was Christmas. I remember the last Christmas I spent with my family. My dad prepared a wonderful pot roast. We ate till our stomachs were bursting. Then we unwrapped gifts. I got an encyclopedia. Matt got a cute little Christmas themed hat with little silver bells on the top that jingled every time he shook his head. My dad and I laughed as he tried to discover where the tinkling noise came from.

Christmas was my favorite holiday. It used to be the most joyful time of the year. But this year, it was unbearable. Everything was so depressing, not only for Percy and I but for the all the people here too. All of the boarding students left for the holidays making this place cold and empty. They didn't even bother lighting up the torches at the mess hall. It was a really painful Christmas dinner.

"I miss my mom's glazed ham." Nico said glumly, picking at his cold mashed potato.

"I miss Mother's roasted chicken." Bianca chimed in.

"I miss my mom's pudding." Luke said.

"I miss her Christmas cakes. It was the only time of year my mom wasn't drunk." Thalia scowled.

"I miss Mom's blue gingerbread men. And I miss finding my stocking filled with blue candy." Percy muttered.

I had it with misery. "Come on, you guys." I said, lamely trying to cheer them up. "That's not what it's about. Christmas isn't about the food or the gifts. It's about-"

"We know, Annabeth." Thalia broke in. "We know it isn't about the food or the gifts. But they sure do help set the mood."

I fell silent. There's no arguing with that.

**A/N: This really had nothing to do with the story, But I wrote it last Christmas and I just wanted to put it in. Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Percy's POV**

Annabeth and I have been growing apart ever since the detention incident. She hasn't talked to me since. But then again, I never tried talking to her either. In fact, Christmas Eve was the only time heard her speak for months. We went separate ways, I hung out with Rachel more often and she usually hangs out with Luke or Thalia.

I wandered the school halls aimlessly. I was bored and there was no one to talk to. Still out for the holidays. I figured it was a good time as any to fix things with Annabeth. I just hope it isn't too late.

Annabeth was exactly where I guessed she was, clacking away at a computer in the library.

"Uh... Annabeth?"

"What is it, Percy?" She said without looking up.

"What are you working on?"

"It's nothing. Well at least to you anyway." She turned to face me. "What do you want? Why, did your rich little girlfriend go to Switzerland for the holidays?"

I winced at the hostility of her voice. "She is not my girlfriend." I said defiantly.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"And she went to Paris." I squeaked out.

"Whatever." She went back to the computer.

"Listen, Annabeth. I'm sorry for ignoring you for the longest time. But I'm here to help you now."

"I could have used that help a long time ago"

"I know. I'm sorry for that. You have my help from now on."

She turned to face me. "That's a really big promise Percy."

"I know."

"You know, I still want to stay mad at you but I kind of really need your help."

"Anything."

"You remember that Seaweed Brain." She smiled. "Okay, I'm sorry for being a little difficult."

"A little?"

"Don't push it."

"Yes ma'am." I gave her a mock salute.

She smirked. "Okay, back to business. I need you to write a detailed report of what happened back there. Everything you seen or heard since you entered the building goes to the paper, understood?"

"Oh, come on, Annabeth. You said research. Not homework. Thought I have to say, the difference between the two is really little." I groaned. "Besides, didn't the terrorists die in the plane crash and all? Nothing to investigate there. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for finding out the truth of what happened, but what's to say that's not it?"

"Well, I'd really like to believe that, Percy. But I can't. Evidence says otherwise. Something else happened. Something strange. I want all my questions answered. I need to know. I can't stand not knowing."

"Strange? Like what?"

"Good question. One of the stuff that strikes me was how clean the building fell. Without demolition charges, that should be impossible. Four planes that crashed into the building should do a lot of damage but it wouldn't cause the entire building to collapse. The government passed it off as faulty structure of the building but as a well-respected and famous building it is should have had a better foundation. I refuse to believe that one of my favorite pieces of architecture was built badly."

"Wow." I said, truly amazed. "Anything else?"

"If it is indeed the truth, then why do so many people doubt it? Almost everybody have their own theory and not much people believe that it is assassinated. There are many great theories out there - like the demolition charge theory- but there are also a lot of really ridiculous ones. Like aliens from outer space."

I cracked up. "You're kidding right?"

"Yeah. That's pretty much out there. Like I said. Ridiculous. But I try to keep an open mind." Annabeth continued. "Because up to this point, anything is possible. I reviewed some footage of the actual thing. And I saw some pretty weird stuff. Here watch it for yourself."

She opened a video on the computer. I felt a lump in my throat. It was the twin towers collapsing. I watched it happen all over again. After five minutes of watching, I cleared my throat. "What am I supposed to look at? I don't see anything unusual, except for the tallest structure in the world collapsing sending my mom to her demise."

She replayed the video. "Here, watch closely. Could you see blue sparks on the smoke and all over the ruble?"

I squinted my eyes. I didn't see anything at first but when I looked at it closer, it was there. It's really hard to see, but it's definitely there, as clear as day.

"Yeah, I see them. They're freaky..."

"You didn't see them when you were there that day?"

I shook my head. "No. But if they were there, I doubt that I'll notice."

"One more thing, a few witnesses said that they saw lightning swirling around the building. I would have ignored that, but after seeing this video, anything is possible. Did you maybe notice that?"

I tried to remember. Weird, though it was so vivid in my nightmares, the memory is so hazy. I had trouble making it out. "Now that you've mentioned it, yes, I did see something like that."

"Yes! Finally a breakthrough!"

"Huh?" I said confused.

"You just confirmed my suspicions. There is something happening here." She replied. "And I intend to find out."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is to make up for the last chapter, It was a bit too short. I really hope you guys would tell me what you think about this one!**

**Did I do this right? No Percabeth for now. And I won't be putting much of it in the next chapters. Expect some later, but as I said, there will only be slight.**

**I researched long and hard for this story. I'm sorry if some little details aren't correct, but I need them for the plot. No disrespect for those who actually suffered in 9/11 meant. Anyway, I'm sure you could tell which details are real, and which are false. They're quite obvious.**

**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Annabeth's POV**

Percy stuck around-even after the holidays. Though he hung out with Rachel a lot, he came every other afternoon for our research sessions.

He surprised us today by sitting in our table at lunch.

"Where's Rachel?" Thalia said, surprised.

"She got sick today." Percy admitted. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure." Luke answered. "Annabeth was just telling us about what you guys learned during your research sessions."

Percy filled them in on everything we managed to figure out, with me adding the stuff he forgot to mention. After a while, Thalia spoke up. "Those are pretty serious stuff. You do l know there's only one way to confirm them for sure."

"How?" I asked skeptically

She grinned mischievously. "A break in."

"Cool!" Nico chimed in. "What better place to investigate than the scene of the crime itself?"

"Whoa, wait a minute." I said, cautiously. Someone had to be the voice of reason. "You're suggesting that we should trespass on government property?"

"Why not?" Thalia scoffed. "It's not as if they'd investigate it themselves and release the information to the public. 6ou guys will be heroes to those other kids wondering what really happened to their parents during the 9/11."

"You guys should be care though." Luke warned. "I'm sure the place would be roped off and everything."

"That's why we need a plan." Percy replied. "I think this is a great idea. We could sneak out at midnight when there's not much people around."

"This is crazy!" I protested. "We'll be caught for sure."

"I'd like to help." Bianca said. "Our parents died in something like that too. The hotel they stayed in got blasted by a huge lightning and collapsed to the ground."

"At least that's what we were told." Nico added. "I can't remember anything about that.

"We only remember small stuff. Like memories of Christmas dinner or my mom tucking us in bed. But other than that, I can't even remember how she looked like or my father's first name."

"Wow." Percy said, awed. "That must be harsh."

Bianca nodded resolutely. "That's why Nico and I would really want to help."

"But..." I grasped around desperately for an excuse not to do this. "How 'bout school?" I added lamely. "A stunt like this could really pull down my grades."

Thalia snickered. "There's no doubt in anyone's mind that you are going to be valedictorian, Annabeth."

"If it worries you," Percy added. "We could do it at summer. It's only a few months away."

"That's perfect." Luke agreed. "It would give us time to plan and the school would be empty by then."

"But it could be dangerous." I said. "It's foolish and unwise."

"It's not my fault we were dragged into this." Percy broke in.

I opened my mouth to respond but he cut me off before I could get a word out. "But I'm not going to give up on this, Annabeth. And I'm not letting you give up on it either. We ARE going to find out what happened to our parents. We ARE going to get through this. Whatever it takes, remember?"

I couldn't help but smile. I'm just so glad to have my best friend back.

**A/N Please review!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Percy's POV**

"Flashlight?"

"Check." I called out.

Annabeth crossed it off her list. "Backpacks?"

"Check."

"Gray hoodies?"

"Check."

"Walkie Talkies?"

"Check."

"Cellphones?"

"Check."

"Notebooks?"

"Check."

"Pens?"

"Check."

"Extra pens?"

"Sheesh, Annabeth. We're going to be back in a few hours." I grumbled. "Do we need to bring sun screen and extra underwear too?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Well, someone has to think of everything. And you already made it quite clear that it won't be you. And you might need the extra underwear. In case you wet your current one."

Thalia snickered. "Quit your yapping, you two. We got a break in to do."

"Okay everyone," Luke called out. "Synchronize your watches."

Today's the day. The first week of summer finally came. I got sick of waiting for it and now I'm super psyched. We spent months waiting for the right day. And today, all those months of planning is finally going to pay off.

Nico came in. "You guys gonna leave already?"

"Soon." Bianca replied. "About an hour from now."

Nico was still sore about not coming with us. It took weeks of convincing him not to go. He even threatened to tell on us. But we were all set on not letting him go. I can't forgive myself if something happened to the guy.

"Is everything all set and ready to go?" I asked everyone.

"Everything's good to go." Annabeth replied. "But it's not too late to add in your extra underwear, Percy."

"Haha." I said sarcastically as everyone laughed. Well, almost everyone.

"Do I really have to stay?" Nico grumbled.

"You're too young." Bianca said patiently. "You might get hurt."

Nico scowled. "I'm not a baby anymore. I can handle myself!"

"We need you here." I said, trying to cheer him up. "We need someone to alert the authorities if we don't come back."

"Whatever." Nico clearly didn't look convinced.

"Okay," Luke said. "It' time to go. Bye, Nico."

We all said goodbye to Nico and headed out. Before I could get through the doorway, Nico grabbed my arm.

"Percy, I know I couldn't go and protect my sister." He told me. "But you can. Will you do it for me?"

I nodded. His concern for his sister is touching.

"Make sure she doesn't get hurt." Nico pleaded. "Promise me."

"You have my word."

Nico was pleased with that. "Good."

He pushed me out the door and I ran into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it! I really do hope you'll leave reviews after reading this. It just might make me update more. And please tell me when you want to update. Choose three days of the week. And, please review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Annabeth's POV**

This is it. We were in. Using our flashlights we managed to make our way to the middle of the rubble. The huge mounds of debris were almost unbearable to look at. But I steeled myself to do the job.

Out of dark eerie silence a sound burst out. We all jumped. The first few notes of the theme song of Mission Impossible rung.

"Sorry!" Percy called out. "That was just my phone."

"Well, turn it off, you idiot! Do you want us to get caught?" Thalia barked.

"Okay, okay..." Percy fumbled with his backpack. A few seconds later the ringing stopped. We emerged yet again in total silence.

Then Luke smirked. "Mission Impossible?"

Percy grinned. "I thought it would be fitting for this job."

"Quit goofing around, you guys. We have a job to do." I reminded them.

We searched in silence for a few minutes.

Then Percy called out again. "What are we looking for anyway?"

"Don't look at me." I raised my hands defensively. "This was Thalia's idea."

"I just thought you would have figured something out by now." Thalia shrugged.

"There's nothing in here except for ruble." Bianca said.

Oh, how wrong she was.

We walked around for a bit. We came to a huge pile of debris. Bianca looked around for a bit.

"Ooh, a Mythomagic card!" She squealed. "Nico doesn't have this yet. Maybe I could give it to him to make up for leaving him behind." She looked at it more closely. "Awesome. It's not even scorched much."

"Hurry up, Bianca. We have to leave soon." Luke told her.

"Oh, come on. No one's going to catch us anyway." she protested.

Then we all heard a huge creaking sound. I turned to look and what I saw sent chills down my spine. What in the world is that thing? We stood there, paralyzed with fear as it came towards us, smashing the piles of metal blocking its way.

**A/N Hold on, this story's gonna have some twists and turns. Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Percy's POV**

It was ten feet tall, made of pure metal. It must've weighed tons. It smashed everything in its way. And it did not look happy.

I felt someone push me from behind. "Move it!" Annabeth yelled at me.

My legs started working again.

"Where to?" I yelled back.

"To the sidewalk! It probably won't fit through the scraps of metal. I'll meet you there!" Annabeth surged forward. Luke and Thalia left too. I ran to catch up. But then I remembered something.

"Bianca! Come on!" I shouted at her.

"Just a minute! It's stuck!" She was still trying to pry off the Mythomagic card. "Go! I'll catch up!"

"There's no time! Come on!" I grabbed her wrist and ran. We ran to a huge mound of debris. I managed to find a hole to squeeze through. The thing smashed the wall of metal scraps. It almost made it through. When I got to the other side, I saw Luke, Thalia and Annabeth throwing scraps of metal at it. If anything, it just made the thing angrier. Finally Annabeth picked up a dagger on the floor. She swung at the humanoid. Surprisingly, it sliced cleanly through. Its metal arm fell with a clunk.

I tried to copy Annabeth. I picked a rusty huge kitchen knife on the floor. I lunged at the monster and swung the knife. But it didn't slice through like Annabeth's. With a loud clang, the knife shattered on the impact. Worse, I fell backwards due to my momentum. I fell on my back and the monster charged at me. I thought I was done for, but miraculously the metal humanoid stopped a few feet away from my face. I stood up. The monster fell on its face, Annabeth's dagger sticking out his back. She grinned at me triumphantly.

We met up with Luke and Thalia.

"Nice moves you got there." Luke said to Annabeth.

"Thanks." I could see Annabeth blush, despite the darkness.

"Where'd you get that knife, Annabeth?" Thalia wondered.

"Yeah. How come my knife didn't cut through like yours did?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just picked it up from the ruble." Annabeth studied her dagger. "It looks ancient Greek or something."

"Lucky. All I managed to pick up is this bracelet. It looks pretty cool though." Thalia held up a bracelet.

"I'm keeping my dagger!" Annabeth announced.

Something caught my eye. A Mythomagic card. "Hey, guys." I picked up the card. "Where's Bianca?"

**A/N: Please don't jump to conclusions just yet. A lot of you are asking if Bianca will die. But I can't answer that without destroying the suspense. Though I do promise you one thing, someone will die. But please don't hate me. And, please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Annabeth's POV**

"Bianca? Bianca!"

We searched through the entire place and there was no trace of her.

"Do you think she went back already? Maybe she took the subway." Percy asked hopefully.

"Maybe." I said doubtfully. Bianca wouldn't just leave us like that.

"Do you think we should call the police? This is way out our hands." Luke said.

"You think they're going to believe us?" Thalia said incredulously. "Besides, what are we going to tell them? Help! While we were trespassing on government property a big tin man got our friend? That's not going to get us anywhere, except maybe the mental hospital."

"Not if we have evidence." I dug into my backpack. "I took a picture of that automaton." I held it up for them to see. It was a pretty good shot of the automaton charging at us. Weird blue sparks filled the corners of the photo.

"Hey, aren't those the blue sparks we saw in that video?" Percy asked. "I'm pretty sure I didn't see those on the automaton."

"Maybe." I said, distracted.

"Let's go around this place one more time." Luke suggested. "Then we go to the cops."

"That could work." Thalia considered it. "But if we find anything that would lead us to Bianca, we follow it."

We didn't split up, for the fear of losing one another. Instead we trailed around the place as a group. We came to the spot where we fought the automaton. But its huge metal body was nowhere to be found.

"Where is it?" Percy turned around looking for the automaton. "It was right here! It couldn't have stood up and walked away. We would have heard it."

"And it's too big for anyone to carry off." Luke added.

"I was hoping this would be the evidence we would show the cops." I said, disappointed. "Now all we have is a measly picture that proves nothing except that we're good at Photoshop."

"That settles it then." Thalia said. "We're going back."

We walked back towards the sidewalk. There we saw a homeless man.

"Have you seen anyone carrying this?" Thalia questioned him, holding up the photo.

"Now why would anybody be carryin' tha' pile of junk?" He answered, disgusted.

I looked at the picture again. Sure, it was a little blurry but it was still quite clear that it wasn't just a pile of junk.

"Maybe it walked off?" Luke said incredulously.

"Are ya pullin' my leg, eh, boy? Coz I ain't seeing hunks off trash growin' legs and walkin' about. I ain't seein' nothin'." Then his eyes fell on Annabeth's knife. "What are you doin' with tha' gun? Ya threatinin' me, are ya? And wha' are ya teenagers doin' at this time? Ya want me to call the cops? I will if you kids won't leave me alone. Find yer own corner! This is mine. Ya hear me? Mine!"

"Um, thanks, I guess." I said uncertainly. "We'll be on our way." I pulled my friends away.

"How come he didn't see it?" I wondered. "And what gun? It's clearly a knife."

"I'm guessing he's just drunk." Thalia replied. "Didn't you notice? He's crazy."

"But still..." Luke said slowly. "Hey, can I borrow that picture for a while? I'm going to show it to someone and ask them what they see." He jogged off.

A few minutes later he came back. "Any luck?" I asked hopefully.

"Nope." Luke replied. "They don't see the automaton at all."

"So that settles it. We're going back." I said desperately.

"Yeah" Percy sighed. "But how are we going to tell Nico?"

**A/N: I repeat: Please don't hate me. I'm going to put some twists on this story just to keep it interesting. Okay? And I might make one or more of the characters die. Don't try to guess! So tell me what you think and REVIEW!**

**Oh, and can you please answer the poll I put up? It's on my profile page. Thanks!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Percy's POV**

Tired and weary, we made our way back.

"Hey," Nico greeted us as soon as we walked in. "How'd it go? Did you find out anything?"

"Uh..." Guilt rose in my chest. I've been dreading this moment. "Listen. Nico-"

He looked around. "Where's my sister?"

None of us said anything. But the guilt was written all over our faces.

"No..." He moaned. "What happened?"

"Well, uh, we encountered something along the way." Annabeth showed him the picture. "I'm so sorry."

He glanced at the photo. "You're telling me that a tin man got my sister?" He said in disbelief.

"We fought it off but Bianca got lost in the process." Luke said gently.

His eyes fell on Annabeth's dagger. "You're not kidding."

He paused letting it sink in.

"Sh- she wanted you to have this." I placed the Mythomagic card in his hands. "I'm really sorry."

He stared at the card with a look in his eyes that made me want to vanish into nonexistence.

Then he turned to me, his eyes blazing with fury. "How could you let this happen, Percy? I thought I can trust you!"

"I'm really sorry, Nico." I said desperately. "I tried my best."

"Then obviously your best isn't enough!" He shouted at me. He ripped the Mythomagic card. "I hate this. I hate you!" He stormed off leaving the shredded pieces of the card behind.

**A/N: I know that in the book, it's a figurine but I thought a Mythomagic card will be more appropriate. Anyway, review!**


	20. Chapter 20

The next day, we agreed to meet up to talk. Luke, Percy and I were already at the library. Thalia was running late and Nico refuses to talk to anyone.

"I've been wondering about the photo. Maybe only the people who saw the automaton can see what's in the picture?" Luke told me.

"I don't think so. Nico saw the automaton on the photo. And that doesn't explain my knife. And I'm pretty sure Nico saw it for what it is too."

"Maybe only kids can see it? And adults can't" Percy added doubtfully. "I saw something like that on a movie once."

"No..." I said, thinking. "I don't think that's it..." I grabbed my camera. "Let's experiment."

We took pictures of the knife. The blue sparks showed up in the photos too.

"Let's try this one." Luke took out Thalia's bracelet. "I borrowed it."

"Okay." I took it from him. I studied it closely. Then I accidentally dropped it. It morphed into a shield. I gasped. Surprised, I nicked myself with my dagger. Blood started to trickle. I ignored it.

"What is that?" Percy looked at it.

"Aegis." I said automatically. "It's that shield Athena gave to Zeus in Greek Mythology."

"Annabeth? You can read Ancient Greek?"

"I don't know." I admitted. "The letters just rearranged in my head."

"Really?" Luke said incredulously.

"Do you think this has something to do with Greek mythology?" I said, astounded. "Maybe they weren't just myths after all."

"Craziest theory so far." Luke said. "Maybe crazy enough to be true."

"Your finger is bleeding." Percy pointed out. "Let's get it cleaned first."

"I'm fine. It's so small anyway." I protested. He ignored me. He took my hand and gently pulled me to the nearest drinking fountain. He gently poured water on my fingers. The blood washed away and the wound slowly healed and vanished.

"H-how did it do that?" I asked astonished.

"Do what?" Percy asked, confused. "Every time I pour water on my wounds they always disappear."

"Okay..." I decided to think about this some other time. We headed back to the library.

"How'd it-" I started to say but Thalia burst in the library looking frantic.

"Thalia! Did you know that you bracelet can morph into a shield?" I said excitedly.

She barely glanced at it.

"What is it?" Luke asked worriedly.

"It's Nico." Thalia said urgently. "He ran away. He's gone."

**A/N: Hey! I really do hope you guys would review. And if you liked this story, go to my profile and answer the poll!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Percy's POV**

Annabeth spends all her time in the library now. She hardly does anything else. I went inside. _I am going to do it._ I told myself resolutely.

"Hey, Annabeth." I said. "Anything?"

"No." Annabeth sighed. "Nothing. I was hoping that I would find something that would lead us to Bianca. I can't find anything." She slammed the book shut. "Useless."

"Don't be too hard on yourself." I told her. "You're doing the best you can. Besides, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is." Annabeth replied. "I'm holding myself responsible for this. I knew something was going to happen. I just didn't know what." She muttered. "I plan to make it up to Nico by finding out what happened. And hopefully that would lead us to her."

"I understand. But I think you need a break." I decided to jump at the chance before I lose courage. "So, uh, Annabeth, you know about the fireworks, right?"

The fireworks were on 4th of July. Tomorrow. Every student knows about it. It's the biggest event here. The Dares really went all out for the fireworks display. The students came here for one day just to watch it.

She nodded. I cleared my throat and continued. "I was wondering. Maybe we could, um, I don't know. Would you go, uh, if you want, maybe we can, uh..." I stuttered. Why is this so hard? I took a deep breath. "Annabeth, will you go to the fireworks with m-"

I was interrupted. Thalia went inside the library.

"Hey, Annabeth. Can you believe it? Luke is still convincing me to show Aegis to the police. Boys are so dumb." She exclaimed. Then she seemed to realize I was standing there.

"Sorry, Percy," Thalia said apologetically. "But present company included."

I rolled my eyes.

Annabeth laughed. "You're right. Boys are idiots."

"Anyway, I'm hungry. Annabeth, wanna go out for a bite?" Thalia asked her.

"Sure. I'm famished." She replied.

They went out. I stared at them resentfully. There goes my chance.

Then Annabeth poked her head in. "Hey, Seaweed Brain! Meet me there at six." With that she left.

I shook my head. Girls are so confusing.


	22. Chapter 22

**Annabeth's POV**

"I'm going to meet Percy at six and I still need to get ready. It's already five thirty. So can you tell it to me quick?" I told Luke.

"I found out something really weird. Your knife doesn't hurt anyone except for the four of us. Anyone else, it just passes through."

"How'd you know that? I asked suspiciously.

"Okay, so maybe I accidentally dropped your knife on someone's foot. And, thankfully it didn't hurt him. And he thought I just dropped a ruler. So I kind of faked about five more accidents so that I can be sure. It didn't hurt anyone except for Thalia. And, boy, did she get angry. She let me off the hook as long as I let her do the "accident" on Percy and-" Luke hesitated

"And then?" I prompt him.

"Uh, let's just say that the knife didn't go pass him either."

"Fine." I sighed. "Anything else to report?"

"I did what you asked me to do. Show the picture around and see who could tell if it's an automaton or not. In case Percy's theory was correct."

"Then..." I urged him to go on.

"Well, it's most certainly not correct. The other kids didn't see it either. And believe me, I asked a lot of them. And some of them got plenty annoyed." He winced and touched a bruise on his arm.

"So no one saw it correctly?" I asked surprised.

"Well..." Luke replied. "There was this one girl..."

"Does she have any similarities with us? Is she an orphan?"

"No on both counts."

My guts twisted as I began to realize who he was talking about. "Who is she?" I asked suspiciously.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

**A/N: I know my chapters are short but I keep it that way so that I can update a lot more often. I update thrice or more times a week. So please excuse he short chapters. And personally, I don't hate Rachel. Actually, I think she's cool. So, please don't hate her. At least in this story, okay? Anyway... Please review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Okay, please don't hate me after this chapter. I put a little Percabeth so that you won't entirely hate me. And I'll try to make my chapters longer but I have a little problem with the POV switching. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Percy's POV**

Two more hours...

I walked around having nothing to do. I checked the library for Annabeth but oddly she wasn't there. She left her backpack though.

I know I shouldn't have but curiosity won over. I glanced around guiltily and unzipped her bag carefully. I took out the knife.

"Percy?" I heard someone say from behind me.

Surprised, I accidentally swung the knife.

"Ahhh!" Rachel shrieked. "Percy! What are you doing? And why didn't that knife kill me?"

"Rachel?" I said, shocked. "You could see it's a knife?"

"Of course." She scoffed. "It's either that or it's the world's largest toothpick."

"And you didn't get hurt from the slash?"

"No, and thank goodness for that."

"Sorry... You scared me."

"I scared you?" She snickered. "And you're the one carrying the big scary knife."

I got the picture from Annabeth's backpack. "How bout this?" I showed it to her. "Can you see it?"

"Yeah. Your friend, Luke, showed it to me.

"Well, what do you see?" I asked her.

"Um... A big robot thing and a group of ten years old archers in the background."

"Wait, what?" I looked at it much closer. Weirdly enough, it was right there, as clear as glass. "I didn't see that before."

"I have a knack of seeing things other people don't" She shrugged. "I keep them to myself. People just call me crazy."

"I want to show you something." I went a computer booth and opened up the video Annabeth showed me before. "Watch closely. And tell me what you see."

Rachel studied it closely. "I see lightning swirling around the building. And, call me crazy but I see a man controlling it with some sort of a lightning bolt. He reminds me of that god we learned in Social Studies. Zeus."

"You think this has something to do with Greek gods?" I asked her.

"I really don't have an idea, Percy."

I checked my watch. 5:45.

"Okay. Thanks, Rach. I have to go. I'm gonna be late."

"Alright. See ya, Percy."

I hurried to the fireworks sight. I spotted Annabeth right away.

"Hey, Percy!" She called out.

"Hey, Annabeth." I walked over.

We feasted on grilled cheese sandwiches and blue Cherry Coke. Once we finished eating, we sat there waiting for the fireworks display to start.

"Nice night, huh?" Annabeth leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Uh huh." I got out. Those were the only words I could think of.

We sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Uh..." I said, rather lamely. "Are you cold?"

"It's summer, Seaweed Brain." She laughed.

"Oh... Right." I draped my arm around her anyway.

Perfect moment. Until I opened my big mouth. "I got great news, Annabeth. I told Rachel about it and-"

Annabeth moved away and turned to face me. "You told her?" Her voice dripping with disbelief.

"No, it's okay. She figured it out." I said reassuringly.

"Rachel? She figured it out?" She was angry now.

And of course I didn't notice it until later. "Yeah. Turns out, you were right. It did have something to do with the Greek gods."

"Percy! Why did you tell her? It's our problem. Not hers. We don't need her help." She snapped.

"How come you told Thalia and Luke then? Why you let them help?" I said defensively.

"They're different. They know all about losing one's parents. They know how it feels. She has no idea. She has two parents, lives in a mansion and never had any problems in life." She said angrily.

"But she can help! She can see through the blue sparks better than any of us. She can lead us around!" I said.

"You want her to lead?" Annabeth said in disgust.

I got angry now. "It's not as if you could do any better."

"Di immortales, Percy! You're such an idiot!" She glared at me furiously. Whoa, where'd the Greek come from?

The fireworks began in the background.

"Gods, Percy." Annabeth shouted raising her voice to be heard from the fireworks. "You are the worst friend ever!" she ran away.

**Please Review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Annabeth's POV**

I didn't stop running until I got to my room.

I crashed into the bed. Gosh, I was mad. I screamed into my pillow then punched it as if I were punching Percy.

I sat there, covered in sweat. My hair plastered to my face.

As much as I hate to admit it, Percy's right. Rachel might be useful. I have to put aside my own selfish reasons and let her lead us. It pains me to do so, but I'm willing to give up anything for dad and Matthew. I'm just going to have to put those thoughts behind.

I was a little too harsh to Percy. But it's because there's something I really want to tell him. Something I really need him to know.

I sat there in my bed. Thinking. There's something I've been hiding from Percy. I already told Thalia and Luke. But I'm not sure if I could tell Percy. I'll admit it, I'm scared. But I think he has the right to know. I wonder what he'll think of it. After today, I'm not so sure anymore. I have to tell him. Time is running out for the both of us. I just don't want to. Not yet. I sat in my bed in anticipation. I have to tell him. Can I? Will I?

I sighed. This feeling has been unfamilar to me until a few months ago. But I've been expiriencing it more and more. Ever since the Twin Towers collapsed. The feeling of not knowing what to do.

**A/N: Technically, this isn't a chapter, just a short angsty moment to prepare you for what's coming up next.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Percy's POV**

I ran to Annabeth's room. I knocked but no one answered. With a weird sense of deja vu, I pushed the door open. She was on the bed, deep in thought.

I was about to tiptoe away and not disturb her when she seemed to realize I was there.

"Percy." She glared at me.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry for all that earlier." I apologized. Why is it that I'm the one always apologizing? I guess it's because I'm the one doing all those dumb mistakes.

I continued. "I didn't mean that you're not a great leader. You are. If there's anyone I want leading this investigation, it would be you. Rachel-"

She held up one hand to stop my babbling.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said coolly. "It's bad for the investigation. So let's not continue on the subject."

I wanted to say more but I decided to keep my mouth shut. That's Annabeth. Business first.

Her voice softened. "I need to talk to you about something." She motioned for me to sit on the bed.

I was close enough to see her stormy gray eyes, normally determined and intimidating, as if she was thinking of a million things a minute, are now tired and sad. I wanted so badly to comfort her, but I didn't know how.

"What is it?" I asked her, concerned.

She sighed. "A woman came last week. Said I was related to her somehow. She wanted to adopt me. She's a single mother with a three year old son, Bobby. I never had a mom. And I miss taking care of a younger brother."

She avoided my eyes.

"I'm sure you miss Matt. I miss him too. Remember he used to tug my hair every time I visited?"

She said nothing.

"It's too bad we didn't get to watch the fireworks." I said in a failed attempt to cheer her up.

"You don't get it, do you?" She said her voice cracking. "She asked me if she could adopt me. And I said..." She hardened her voice. "I said yes."

**A/N: Please don't kill me! You didn't see that coming, did you? Anyway, review!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Annabeth's POV**

Percy stood up with a horrified expression. "You're leaving?"

I avoided looking at him. "I have to. I really need a family right now."

"But you can't. Not when we're just figuring this out. How about your dad? Or Matthew?"

"I'm not disowning them. I'm even keeping my last name. The woman's name is Chase. She has the same last name with my dad cause they're cousins."

"You're being selfish." Percy accused me. "You're going just because you want to. Just when I-" He hastily corrected himself. "I mean we needed you the most."

"I'm still going to go to school here. I'm still going to stay with Thalia when school starts."

"It's summer." He reminded me.

"I'm just moving a few blocks away. I'll visit often." I promised.

"Visit?"

"Every day if you want me to."

"When are you leaving?" He asked me harshly.

I looked away guiltily. "Tomorrow."

"And you didn't tell me? When were you planning to?" He said angrily.

"Stuff came up." I said defensively. "And I was afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" He asked impatiently.

I hardened my voice. "Afraid that you're going to act like this."

"How did you expect me to act?" He said his voice cracking. "Yay, my best friend is leaving me?"

"It's not like that." I protested. "I'll only be a few blocks away."

"It's still not the same."

"Percy-"

He cut me off. "Look, you're obviously going to have a long day ahead of you tomorrow. So you should get some sleep. Good night."

I hardly slept that night. In the morning, I packed my bags and got ready to go. I decided to drop by Percy's room before I left. I already said my goodbyes to Luke and Thalia.

"Hey, Percy."

He looked up and eyed my luggage resentfully. "You're ready to go?"

I nodded. "Look, I'm really sorry that-"

He interrupted me. "I don't want to hear it."

"Please, Percy." I pleaded.

He wouldn't meet my eyes. "Just go."

I could take a hint. "Okay." I made my way across the room. "Bye, Percy." I said sadly just before leaving the room.

**A/N: Okay you guys hate me now. Please, don't stop reading! It's all going to unfold soon. And there will be more Percabeth. Just wait! There was a little in this chapter. Can you point it out?**

**And the one who adopted Annabeth is her step mother in the book. In this fic, she's nice. Percy won't get adopted. And i don't really know Annabeth's step-mom's name so if any of you can tell me... Great.**

**And, review!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Percy's POV**

Running. I could hear my own footsteps hitting the sidewalk. Hot tears streaked my face. "Mom?" I panted. I rushed towards the demolished pieces of where the glorified Twin Towers once stood. "Please!" I said to myself. "She can't be gone. Not like this."

I headed to the police officer nearby. "Please, sir. My mom works here. I need to go in."

"Sorry, boy." He said sympathetically. "No one made it. She's gone."

"No!" I shouted.

I woke up panting. I was sweating like crazy. Luke woke up and shot me a worried glance.

"It's fine. Go back to sleep." It's fine. Go back to sleep."

He nodded and a few minutes later, he was back to snoring.

I lay at my side. I've been having these nightmares more often and a lot more vividly ever since Annabeth left. I really miss the talks we have at the library every afternoon. They calmed me down. I still dreamed of my mom but lesser when she was here. But now the nightmares (Or "post-traumatic stress disorder", as Annabeth calls it.) are hitting me more than ever. I really want to talk to her. I really need to. She left me. I reminded myself. She'll never be there for me anymore.

I thought I would never get to sleep. But I eventually did because another dream visited me.

I saw Nico standing in a dark, dreary place. Was that ghosts that floated around? A very out of place rainbow hung around the middle. He tossed a coin into it. "Iris, goddess of the rainbow." He said to it flatly. "Accept my offering and show me Bianca di Angelo."

The rainbow shimmered and glowed until an image of Bianca appeared.

"Bianca?" Nico said. "I've been trying to contact you. How come you never answered?"

"Nico." Bianca said gently. "Whatever needs to be said between us needs to be said in person." She looked directly at me. "I'm here to talk to Percy."

"Percy?" he growled and whipped around. "You." He glared at me. He laid a hand on a sword belted around him.

Before I can panic, Bianca came to my rescue. "Nico, wait. I need to talk to him. And admit it; you're not mad at him, your mad at me. And I'm sorry. But I promise I'll talk to you soon enough. Besides, he's not here physically. You can't really hurt him."

Nico glared at me. "Demigod dreams." He muttered under his breath. He rolled his eyes and went off to build a fire.

Bianca looked at me. "I know you have a lot of questions, Percy. But listen carefully. Go back to the Twin Towers site. You will need a clear sighted mortal to guide you around."

"Rachel?" I guessed.

She nodded. "She will do. You will find an ancient artifact. A deadly weapon. You will know when you see it. The gods are searching for it frantically. Bring it to them. I will meet you at the six hundredth floor of the Empire State Building."

"Six hundredth floor?" I asked incredulously.

She nodded. "And your dad told me to tell you something."

"My dad?" I asked, shocked.

"He told me to remind you about his gift. Don't forget to uncap the pen! Now, hurry. Time is of the essence." She swiped her hand through the mist.

"Wait!" Nico cried out. But it was too late. Bianca shimmered and disappeared.

"Argh!" Nico stomped on the ground exasperatedly.

I just watched him. He took out some cards. His mythomagic cards. He threw them to the fire. "Useless." he muttered. "How come I ever liked them before? Foolishness."

He looked at me. "Hurry, Percy." He narrowed his eyes. "I'll be waiting for you."He slashed his sword through the air and everything disappeared.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this one. This was one of my favorite chapters. I hope you guys aren't still angry at me. Because something else is coming up. Not that soon though, but close. **

**I'd like to thank percabethkid28 for being the only one who didn't hate me after Chapter 25. And AzianDemigod16 for being the first one to tell me that Annabeth's mom's name is Helen. Thanks to all of your reviews, alerts and favorites! I love reviews the most. I love reading them, even the negative ones.**

**Anyway, please review!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Annabeth's POV**

"You'll be okay here?" My adoptive mother led me to my room.

"It's perfect." I smiled. "Thanks, Mrs. Chase."

"That's too formal." She protested. "You can call me Helen"

"Okay."

"I'll leave you to unpack." A little boy came from behind her. "Say hi, Bobby."

"Hi, Bobby." He echoed happily.

He came to my room. "You're going to be my new sister, right?"

I nodded.

He narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to kick me out of you room and take forever in the bathroom. And text all the time like those evil teenagers they show in TV?"

"No."

"Do you hate little kids like me?" He asked suspiciously. "I'm three. But I'm going to be four on my birthday." He added proudly.

"No, I don't hate little kids." I told him. "I love them. I used to have a little brother like you. But he was two years old not three. He calls me "Ayabef" because he can't pronounce Annabeth."

"I'm older than him. But I think I'm gonna call you 'Ayabef' too. 'Annabeth' is really hard to pronoshiyate- uh, pronounsayte- pronow-" He tried to say. "Um, 'Annabeth' is really hard to say." he finished.

I laughed. "Okay."

"You wanna play superhero with me?" He held up a Superman action figure.

"I'd love to. But I have to unpack first." I replied.

"Okay. Can I wait for you here? I wanna watch."

"If you want to." I shrugged.

I started unpacking. Bobby started biting Superman's head. I looked at him.

"He can be hard headed sometimes." He explained matter-of-a-factly.

I smiled. "Well, he is the man of steel."

He beamed at me. "Yeah. That's right!" He looked around. "I think I'll wait for you at my room. Superman's getting bored."

I laughed. "Okay, see you."

He left my room talking to his action figure. "I like her, don't you, Superman? Ayabef is really nice."

I smiled to myself. I really like it here. I looked at the room across from mine. The door was open revealing a messy room with LEGO spilled everywhere. The aroma of home baked cookies still fresh in the air. Not a bad place, I thought to myself. Then I felt a little guilty for feeling so at home. I could still remember my fight with Percy. I started unpacking wondering if our paths will ever cross again.

**A/N Okay, for Nico, I won't be mentioning him much. For now. He learned he was a demigod when he managed to stumble into the Underworld. I won't e going into much details because this story revolves around Percy and Annabeth, not him. But he will still be in the story.**

**Don't worry, I can't erase Annabeth out of the picture that easily. Remember this, Percy and Annabeth always have their own chapters.**

**Hope you like this one, review!**


	29. Survey

**Hello! Sorry, this is not a real chapter. It's a survey. I need to know what you think so please take this time to answer some questions. Tell me your answers via review. Thanks!**

1) Who is your favorite character in this story so far?

a. Percy

b. Annabeth

c. Thalia

d. Nico

e. Thalia

2) Which chapter is your favorite so far? And why?

3) Which chapter is your least favorite so far? And why?

4) If I make some more tragedy and drama for Percy and Annabeth, would that be okay?

a. Yes

b. No

c. Maybe. It depends.

5) Is there anything I might write that would stop you from reading this story?

a. Yes

b. No

c. If you keep up with all the drama and cliffhangers, maybe.

6) Should I continue this story or should I stop here?

a. No! Don't stop!

b. Yeah. You probably should end it already.

7) If I make a sequel to this story, would you read it?

a. Yup.

b. If it's as bad as this one, no way.

8) If I offered you some refreshments would you choose...

a. Blue Cherry Coke

b. Root beer

9) What would you rather have?

a. Chewy blue chocolate chip cookies

b. Moist chocolate cupcakes with blue icing

10) Let's see if you're paying attention. What chapter is this?

a. 29

b. 28

c. But you just said that this isn't a chapter!

d. None of the above

11) Did you notice that I skipped number three?

a. Yeah, I totally did.

b. Nope. Totally oblivious.

c. No, you didn't skip it at all!

d. What does this have to do with your story?

12) How did you like this survey?

a. Loved it.

b. Hate it. It wasted my time completely.

c. It's okay. I was expecting a chapter though.

d. None of your beeswax.

**Please answer it! I really need to know what I need to improve on. And this is the time to put in any comments for the whole story? Like, are there any OOCs? Sorry, but I'm going to update if I get enough answers for this.**

**Thanks for all those who review, favorited and alerted this story. I love them all! There wouldn't be a story without you guys. I'm looking forward to show you the next chapters I've written so, get going and answer this survey!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Sorry for those who got annoyed by the survey! I had an agenda to fill. And I noticed that my documents were wrongly named. Chapter 29 was named Chapter 30 and so on and so forth. That was just to correct them. **

**Anyway, thanks to those who answered! You really made my day. **

**And one last thing. Our house is being remodeled so our internet will be off most of the time. Plus I have an upcoming exam. But don't worry, I'll still update. Maybe thrice a week instead of everyday. And shorter chapters. Sorry! I'm trying! And I really can't write long chapters. Something to do with the POV switching.**

**On with the story! Enjoy and Review!**

**Percy's POV**

I roamed around the halls with nothing to do. I sighed. I can't expect to see Annabeth at the library anymore.

I remembered what Bianca said about a pen. I went back to my room and dug out my birthday present from my bag. Really? What does my dad expect me to do? Write to him? I wanted to test out the ink to see if it still works but once I uncapped it, it morphed into a long gleaming sword. Whoa! I almost ran to find Annabeth but then I stopped in my tracks. She's not here anymore. I reminded myself again. I really want to talk to her. I made up my mind to go visit her. But then, I don't even know her address. What kind of friend are you? I chided myself. I felt guilty for freezing her out. I went to ask Thalia where she lives. She'll know.

I knocked on her door. It swung open but it wasn't Thalia.

"Percy?" a very familiar voice asked uncertainly.

"Annabeth? What are you doing here?" I asked in disbelief.

"I sometimes come here to visit Luke and Thalia." She shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask Thalia where you lived. I was planning to visit you. I need to talk to you about something." I looked hurt. "You come here but you don't even drop by my room to say hi?"

Annabeth looked down. "I thought you didn't want to see me anymore."

"That's not true." I said, aghast. "Gods, Annabeth. You don't know how much I missed you."

"I missed you too. Now what do you want to talk about?" She asked straight to the point, as always.

I told her about my sword. She looked pretty impressed. "It turns into a pen? Cool! Is that it?" She nodded at the pen sticking out of my pocket.

I took it out, surprised. "Yeah, but I remember putting it on my dresser. How'd it get here?"

"Maybe it always returns to your pocket?" She said thoughtfully. "That way it wouldn't get lost. Let's test it out."

Before I could protest she took the pen from me and threw it as far as she could.

"Oh, great." I grumbled. "Now we have to go look for-" I felt something in my pocket. I took it out. It was my pen. "Awesome!"

"Well, what are you waiting for, Seaweed Brain? Uncap it." She exclaimed.

I uncapped it and it morphed into a sword.

Annabeth studied the engraving on the handle. "Anaklusmos."

"Riptide." I said automatically. I was surprised that the translation came easily to me.

"Pretty awesome." Annabeth remarked.

"That's not all." I filled her in on my dream a bit sheepishly. But she said nothing while I told her everything. She winced when I mentioned Rachel but didn't acknowledge it longer.

Once I was done, she nodded thoughtfully. "We better get there fast." She said.

"Yeah." I agreed. "It's risky though."

"Let's do it tonight. Tell the others." She said. "I better get planning then."

I smiled at her fondly. Gosh, I've missed her.


	31. Chapter 31

**Annabeth's POV**

I was amazed by Percy's sword. But he isn't the only one with a new magical item.

"Percy, check this out!" I held up a Yankees baseball cap. I dreamt that a woman, my real mother gave it to me last night and when I woke up this morning, it was tucked in my hands.

"Um... Okay..." Percy said confused.

I smirked and put on the cap. I shimmered slightly and disappeared.

"Annabeth?" Percy called out, alarmed.

"Still here, Seaweed Brain." I marveled on how my words appeared from thin air. I tapped his arm.

Percy jumped back in surprise. "Whoa, an invisibility cap!" He exclaimed.

I pulled the cap off. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"It's awesome!" He said excitedly. "Can I try it on?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not now. We better get busy. Round up the others."

"Yes, ma'am!" He said with a mock salute.

I got busy planning. A few minutes later Thalia and Luke came over.

"Percy called us here." Luke said.

"So," Thalia grinned. "Another break in, huh?"

I smiled. "You know it."

Then Percy came in with Rachel.

I felt the smile slip off my face. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Annabeth Chase." She nodded at me. "Percy Jackson. Thalia Grace. Luke Castellan." She said pointing each person in turn. "Okay, I give up. What game are we playing, again?"

I tossed a disgusted look at Percy. "This is going to be a long night."

**A/N: Sorry, short chapter. Expect that from now on. I'd like ro write longer, but can't Anyway, review!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Percy's POV**

"Everyone ready?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep." Rachel said nonchalantly.

Annabeth turned to her. "How'd you manage to sneak away from your parents anyway?" she asked suspiciously. "Didn't they ask any questions?"

"Yeah, well. It was easy." Rachel replied. "I just played dumb."

"Was it hard?" Annabeth scoffed.

"Nah. I just imagined that I was you." Rachel taunted.

Annabeth drew her knife. "You dare question my intelligence?"

Rachel stepped back fearfully. "Nice knife." She mumbled.

"Hey, stop it." I broke in. "Both of you."

Annabeth sheathed her knife. "I want to make it clear that I'm only putting up with her because of my dad and Matthew. Nothing more." She went out the door. "Let's do this."

It was dark and eerie when we arrived at the site. I looked expectantly at Rachel. "What do you see? What are we looking for?"

"I don't know." She admitted.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off. "Well, do you have any idea of what it is?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. But I believe we should go that way." She pointed the way.

"Lead on." I told her.

She guided us through a lot of twists and turns. Then she stopped at a corner. "Okay, now we need to go- Ahhh!" She screamed. I turned my head and saw a huge pig. And it had wings. The saying "When pigs fly" comes to mind. And worst of all, it has Rachel.

A/N: Review!


	33. Chapter 33

**Annabeth's POV**

Okay... What do you do if a flying pig swoops down and snatches your guide to getting out of there? Only Rachel had the right reaction.

"Help!" She screamed. "Get me down!"

Percy looked at Thalia for help.

"Don't look at me. You're the one with the sword."

Before either of them could move, I climbed up a mound of twisted metal. I said a silent prayer. Please, mom. Don't let me go splat. I waited for a few moments and aimed.

"Annabeth! Are you crazy?" Luke shouted at me just as I flung myself at the pig.

I grabbed hold of its hairy sides. Ooh, the smell. I wrinkled my nose. The weight of both Rachel and I made the pig sag lower. It tried to shake me of but I just held on tighter.

"We're losing altitude fast!" I yelled to Rachel. "Jump down on my signal!"

I counted seconds until we were just ten feet of the ground.

"Now!" I shouted. Then I plunged my knife into its back.

"Pork chop!" I yelled victoriously.

Rachel jumped off just as the pig disintegrated into dust. Well, that was unexpected.

I braced myself for landing. Tuck and roll, I told myself.

I crashed into the ground without much problem. I dusted of the powder that came from the pig. Eew, monster dust.

I really do hope that is the last encounter we have with a monster. But even that is too much to wish for...

**A/N: I know it's short but please review!**


	34. Chapter 34

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly as I helped Rachel up.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She looked at Annabeth. "You saved my life."

"Yeah, well. Let's not make a habit of it." She grumbled. "Now, which way?"

That is so Annabeth. She does something impressive, like save someone's life, and acts as if it was no big deal.

"Um, this way, I guess." Rachel led us to that direction. "We're here."

"Are you sure?" Luke said. "There's nothing different here."

"Wait." Thalia said, as if in a trance. "I can feel it. It's here." She thrust her hands in the air. The smell of ozone hung in the air. Thunder crackled and lightning flashed in the air. Then with a loud boom, one large mound of scrap metal burst with light. It exploded, revealing a lightning bolt. _The_ Lightning Bolt.

Annabeth's jaw hung open in awe. "Oh my gods."


	35. Chapter 35

**Percy's POV**

"It looks dangerous, maybe we shouldn't get it." Luke said worriedly. "And even if we survive long enough to give it to the gods, is it wise to give it to the gods?"

"Luke, I think..." I swallowed. "I think they're our parents."

"I know that." Luke wasn't surprised at all, unlike Thalia and Annabeth. "You're not the only one whose been having dreams, Percy."

"What are you saying?" Annabeth gulped.

"We can't betray them." I said uncertainly. "They're probably the only family we have left."

"Do you want to be related to the ones who killed you mother?" He turned to Annabeth. "Or you dad and little brother?" Annabeth's face turned pale. Luke continued. "They're responsible of this." He kicked a piece of charred metal. "They are responsible for the thousands of lives lost here. They are responsible of the families they've broken when they ripped their parents of the picture. They're responsible of collapsing this building. They're responsible for killing your family."

"No..." I mumbled. "This can't be... H-how?"

"The Titan War. They fought to protect Olympus. And failed. And here's what's left of it." He crushed a piece of ruble under his foot.

"Olympus? You mean Greece?" Annabeth said, confused.

"This is Olympus now. The gods move to wherever the Western Civilization is strongest. They stayed in Rome for quite a while too. This is- was their Olympus."

"Was?" I asked. "You mean it shifted its location again? Where?"

"I think you know where, Percy." Luke replied.

It dawned to me. "Empire State Building. The 600th floor. Impossible."

"Well, we can't just leave the Lightning Bolt here for the Titans to get, can we?" Annabeth said.

"Who's to say that the gods are better than the Titans?" Luke said darkly.

"You don't mean..." I said, aghast.

"Or..." Luke said thoughtfully. "We can start a new age. A better one. The Titans had their turn. Then the gods. We can start a new era. The Age of the Demigods."

Annabeth looked really tempted but stayed skeptical. "And just how do you propose to do it?"

Luke turned to Thalia, who was uncharacteristically silent all this time. "We have the Lightning Bolt. One of the most powerful weapons of all time. And I think Thalia knows how to use it, don't you Thalia? Go on. Just take it."

Thalia turned deathly pale. "I-...I...".

"Luke, snap out of it. We should take this to Olympus right now." Annabeth said defiantly. Where she got her strength, I have no idea. But it was definitely there. "We need to go. NOW."

Luke took Annabeth's hands. "I know we can do it. We could make this world a better place. I know you know it. I can see it in your eyes."

Annabeth looked like she was about to crack. I couldn't help seeing her looking so... so fragile. I decided to step in. "Luke, thanks for your suggestions," I said without meaning it. "But we should get going."

"If that's what you want." Luke sighed, grabbing the Lightning Bolt. "Okay, let's go."

"This way." Rachel spoke up, leading the way. She was so quiet; I almost forgot she was there.

I found it hard to trust Luke with the Lightning Bolt after his whole speech earlier.

But with the look in his eyes and the way he was gripping the Lightning Bolt, I had a feeling he could use it if he wanted too. Like he could zap me with it if I tried anything, or even asked.

We reached the Empire State Building in silence. We snuck inside, (Quite easy, since the doorman was sleeping holding a book to his chest.) We reached the elevator. I wondered how in the world we'll find the 600th floor when Rachel grabbed my arm. "I can't enter Olympus." She said wistfully. "I'm just a mortal."

She took my wrist and used it to hover on top of the elevator buttons. A new button appeared. She looked at me. "You know what to do now. Be careful and good luck!" She called just as the elevator door slid shut.

We rode the elevator in silence about halfway there, Luke started to shimmer. "I tried to tell you guys. A new Golden Age about to begin but none of you will be part of it." He faded and disappeared. With the Lightning Bolt.


	36. Chapter 36

I stood there, shocked silly. Luke didn't just betray us, did he?

The elevator doors slid open. Olympus was amazing. But I didn't have time to admire its architectural beauty. I just stepped out, dumbfounded.

Twelve thrones were lined around forming a circular shape. They were occupied by who I supposed were gods and goddesses. The Olympians.

They looked like they were in a meeting. Then a smart woman looked up. She was pretty, in a smart, official way. She had gray eyes just like mine and her hair pulled up in a tight bun. "Annabeth." She said quietly.

"Hi... mom." I choked out.

Percy looked around nervously. "Dad?" He called out in a shaky voice.

A man smiled. He looked like a beach surfer, casual and tanned. "Ah, Perseus Jackson."

Percy winced at the sound of his full name but he didn't say anything else.

"So, you've arrived." A voice boomed out. It came from the god sitting in the biggest throne. There was no doubt that he was in charge. "Thalia, my daughter, do you have my bolt?"

"Luke took it, sir." Thalia gazed at his shoes in fear. "We managed to bring it until the elevator. Then he disappeared with it."

"What?" A god stood up. With his caduceus, I took it that he was Hermes. "Tell me everything."

We told him everything. No one interrupted. They listened keenly and intently. It was a long story but we managed to finish it quickly.

"Father?" Percy squeaked out nervously after finishing our story. "Which god are you?"

"Poseidon, of course." Poseidon laughed heartily.

I leaned towards Percy. "So you really are a Seaweed Brain."

He smirked. "I'm guessing your mom over here is Athena, Wise Girl."

"The boy speaks correctly." My mom said. "I am Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Though," She glared at Percy. "I don't approve of your friendship with my daughter."

"Mom!" I protested.

She shrugged. "I'm just saying. Anyway, where are our manners?" He introduced us to each Olympian. Once she was done, a goddess spoke up. Aphrodite, I guess. "Oh, don't be such a KJ, Athena. I think they're cute together."

Percy blushed. I can feel my cheeks reddening too.

Thalia spoke up. "Which one of you fathers Luke?"

Hermes cleared his throat. "That would be me."

"What happened to Luke?" I asked. "He never told me how his mother died."

Hermes looked away sadly. "May. I loved her so much. But one afternoon, while Luke was barely a toddler, she looked at me while I was changing to my divine form. My real form. It could burn up someone inside. Literally. Once she laid her eyes on me, I knew she was doomed. She survived longer than the most. This is because she has the sight. Very much like your friend, Rachel. She can see through the mist."

"The Mist?" Percy asked.

"It's that blue sparks at the corners of the pictures, right? It blocks the view of what's really going on to mortals." I said knowingly.

"Correct. Though it's not only for pictures. As I was saying," Hermes continued. "She went crazy. She moved from mental hospital to psych wards. Until her mind couldn't take it. She passed away when Luke was about eight years old." Thalia stood there stunned. Then she turned to Zeus. "So, how'd my mom die, Father?" Her voice dripping with contempt. "Not that I care or anything. "She hastily added.

Hera spoke for him. "I sent a lightning bolt on her car." She said haughtily. I decided that I don't like her. "I did not like the way she and my husband are getting close. But I did not mean to kill her."

"Well you did a great job at that." Thalia spat out.

Hera raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't care."

"How about Jason? Why did you kill him?" Thalia shouted at her.

Hera just looked at her with nonchalance. "Jason? He's not dead. As far as I can tell, he's alive."

Thalia's face paled. "Take me to him!"

"I cannot." Hera looked amused.

"Then tell me where he is. How-"

Here cut her off. "I will not entertain this subject any longer. You will have to figure this out yourself."

Thalia threw up her hands. "You kill my mom. Then you won't tell me where my brother is and you still expect me to get your Lightning Bolt for you?"

Zeus sighed deeply. "Well, you will have got the Lightning Bolt. You will bring it here, or the entire Western Civilization will collapse."

"With all due respect, sir." I said. "Why can't you do it?"

Zeus looked pained. "We cannot take the weapon from them. Only demigods can. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone. That makes them twice as invulnerable. We need demigods. We need you."

Thalia glared at him. "And what if we don't? So what if your oh-so-precious Western Civilization falls?"

He looked at us. "If it falls, then pretty soon the world will too."

**A/N: Not my best chapter but it's pretty long. So, I hope your enjoying this because, I'm plotting out a sequel! Yay! I hope you guys will read it. And, sorry, our house is being remodeled so our internet will be spotty. Next chapters will be short and I won't be able to update much. And my year end exams are coming up. So, don't expect fast updates, okay? Wish me luck! And review!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Percy's POV**

We arrived back at our dorms at around dawn.

I was still angry about being forced into a quest. Annabeth was just plain shocked about Luke and Thalia was still brooding about Hera. In other words, we were a wreck.

Rachel was still there, waiting for us. "Hey," She called out brightly. "How'd it go?"

I looked at her weirdly for a few seconds, thinking of what Apollo told to us about her. Something about an Oracle.

She noticed me staring at her. "What is it?"

I filled her in, omitting the part about the Oracle. I made it as quick as possible.

"I'm beat. I'm gonna go hit the hay." Rachel yawned.

"Yeah. Won't your parents notice?" I asked her.

She smirked. "I could be gone for a week and still they wouldn't notice. But I'm going to go to sleep. See you guys tomorrow." She headed for her room.

"I better go too." Annabeth said tiredly. "I have to get there before my mom wakes up."

I nodded. I almost forgot that she doesn't live here anymore.

"Will you be back here to help tomorrow?" I called out to her.

She turned to me. "Sure." She said miserably. "That's what I do. I help my friends."

I felt like a complete jerk. I wanted so badly pull her aside and explain to her that getting Rachel involved wasn't my idea. That I was sorry that Luke turned out to be evil. But now was hardly the time. I was too tired. "See you." I said wearily.

We met up the very next day. Annabeth was more like herself. And that means listing off plans, as usual.

"...We have school next week so that would give us, give or take, three days to complete." She listed off.

"Annabeth, do you want to do this?" Thalia asked.

"Well..." Annabeth said thoughtfully. "It isn't our fight. It's theirs. If this is chess, we're the pawns. And this is really dangerous. It's risky."

I got worried. If we were going to succeed, we would need Annabeth. "So..." I prompt her.

"Count me in." She told me.

**A/N: Hey, you guys! Sorry for another short chapter. But I hoped you liked it.**

**Anyways, could you do me a favor? I wrote a story on FictionPress (the sister site of this one) And so far, no views yet. So could you check it out? I hope you will and enjoy it! And if you review, awesome! Reviews put me in a good mood and if I'm in a good mood, I tend to update faster. (No, that's not a bribe! Okay, maybe a little.) **

**Here's the link: fictionpress .com/s/3001044/2/  
>(ignore the space)<strong>

**And don't forget to review! **


	38. Chapter 38

**Annabeth's POV**

Percy and I were discussing about our plans when the air in front of us shimmered. Then Luke appeared. Percy drew Riptide.

"Nuh-uh." He grinned evilly. "This is just a customized version of your pathetic IM. He waved his hand. If you swipe through me, you'll be cutting off the connection. And I won't get to deliver my message. Aren't you curious on what I'm going to say?"

"Not really." Percy spat out. But he didn't cut the connection. I guess he was just as curious as I was.

"The lightning bolt is back at the Twin Towers site. Same place you found it." He told us.

"Why are you telling us this, Luke?" I asked suspiciously.

"Kronos wanted you two to know where we are. He's hoping that you'll come after us. He wants to crush you guys personally. He developed quite a hatred for you. Actually, for Percy." He turned to me. "There's still hope for you, Annabeth. Join us. We can make the world a better place."

I narrowed my eyes. "Never."

Luke didn't look convinced. "What can I do to convince you?"

"Nothing." Percy answered for me. "She made up her mind. You already delivered your message. Now go."

Luke made no intention of leaving just yet. "How about this?" He reached towards me. I tried to move out of the way but I was too late. He tapped my forehead. And everything went black.


	39. Chapter 39

**Percy's POV**

I swept at the mist. Luke disappeared. I caught Annabeth before she fell. She seemed unconscious. Once I touched her, I felt a jolt. Then I could see what she was seeing in her mind.

I can see what she was thinking of just then. Her biggest dreams and darkest fears. The only thing she feared (asides from spiders) was losing her friends and family. Which seemed to be happening to her often.

I could see the scene playing in her mind. She was in New York City. But not quite, it was better. It had amazing buildings- of which Annabeth had designed. She was having a picnic with Luke and her family. Luke was good again. Athena and her dad were back together. And she was teaching Matthew, who was still alive, to fly a kite.

The scene was over and she regained consciousness. She began to push me out of her mind. She woke up and stared into the distance. Her eyes filled with tears and she began sobbing furiously. I was surprised since she hardly ever cried. Eventually, her devastating sobs started to quiet down to small gasping breaths. I held her head on my shoulder. Soon, I told myself. I'm going to get you, Luke. And I will be looking forward for that day.

**A/N: Sorry, short. Review!**


	40. Chapter 40

**Annabeth's POV**

"Deja Vu, anyone?" I said as we snuck into the Twin Towers site.

"I really hate this." Thalia grumbled as she swept her flashlight around the piles of rubble.

"If this goes well," Percy replied. "Then this will be the last time we'll be doing this."

"If is a big word." Thalia reminded him.

"Pessimist." Percy muttered.

"Facing reality is better than telling yourself that everything is going to be fine, Percy. Nothing is ever going to be okay. We live in the real world. It's cruel and it's harsh. The faster you learn to accept it, the better." Thalia shot back.

"You know," I ventured. "Every time we go here, we end up losing one person. First Bianca then Luke..." I let my voice trail off. We didn't lose Luke. He left. He betrayed us.

Get a grip of yourself I told myself.

"I wonder whose next." Thalia said mysteriously.

Rachel whimpered.

"Stop it, you guys. Nothing's going to happen." Percy reassured himself. Then our heard a large crash to our right. "I hope." he added.


	41. Chapter 41

**Percy's POV**

We headed towards the sound.

"Shouldn't we be heading the other direction?" Annabeth said worriedly. "In case it's a you-know-what."

"We have no choice." Rachel panted. "That's the direction we should be heading."

I stopped in my tracks. "Annabeth's right. We have to get out of here."

"What is it?" Thalia said looking around. Then she saw it. "Holy cow. It's..."

"It's the Minotaur" Annabeth confirmed. "And it's heading towards us."

"No time to run. We have to kill this thing." Thalia told us. Then she turned to me. "Good luck, Percy."

"What? Why me?" I knew that I was whining already but at that point, I didn't care.

"It's clearly heading towards you." Thalia stepped away from me.

I looked and saw that she wasn't bluffing. It was about forty feet away from me now. I gulped and took out Riptide.

"Thalia's right. This is your fight. Try not to die." Annabeth backed away. "There's nothing much we can do anyway."

"Good luck!" Rachel called out from a large distance from me.

Twenty feet...

I did maybe what was the dumbest thing to do in this situation. I threw the Riptide. I expected it to pierce through his chest and maybe, hopefully will kill him. It didn't. I missed by a mile. Well, not really, but you get the point. I was defenseless and weaponless as this half bull half man psychopath made its way towards me. I'm doomed.

I could only hope that the Riptide would go back into my pocket in a few seconds. No such luck.

"Percy," Annabeth instructed. "When he gets close enough, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way- directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"How do you know all this?"

"Research."

The bull-man's getting closer. Ten feet. He closed in on me. A few more seconds and he'll be on top of me.

I wanted to start running away. Waiting until the last second sounded like suicide. But I had a feeling that Annabeth is correct. It was my only chance.

He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.

I jumped sideways as he rushed towards me. Miraculously, I was able to grab one of his horns. Due to his momentum, it snapped off.

The bull-man bellowed in pain. Then it started to charge at me. I felt the Riptide form in my pocket. But I didn't have time to take it out. I just had enough time to tuck my head into my shoulder and point the Minotaur horn in front of me. It rammed into the horn. I pushed it deeper into his ribcage. Like that flying pig, it disintegrated into dust.

Panting, I collapsed to the ground. "Take that, Ground Beef!" I yelled, rather pathetically.

Thalia, Rachel and Annabeth came running.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked, concerned.

"You totally pawned that Minotaur!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Congrats on killing your first monster." Thalia smirked.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Well, it's certainly not going to be your last, though."

"Wait, what?" I managed to croak out.

She pointed towards the distance. "There's more where that came from."


	42. Chapter 42

"No..." Percy groaned. "Not more monsters."

"Can't we just avoid them?" Thalia asked Rachel.

"I'm afraid not. I think they're guarding the Lightning Bolt. I think Luke took it there." Rachel replied.

"Oh, man." Percy moaned. "But I'm tired."

"Here." I dug into my backpack and pulled out a canteen with water.

He took a few sips and poured it on his head. "Ahhh... That's better."

He certainly looked better. He looked a lot more energetic than he did a few seconds ago.

"Let' do this thing." He took out the Riptide. And jogged towards the monsters.

"Oh, and Percy?" I said jogging beside him.

"Yeah?"

"Try not to throw your sword next time."

He rolled his eyes.

There were loads of monsters. I recognized only a few.

Dracnae. Empousai.

Percy, Thalia and I were hacking monsters left and right. Rachel managed to hit some on the head with a metal pole she found on the floor. Didn't really kill but it knocked some of them unconscious.

Percy was a piece of work. He killed monsters as if there were no tomorrow. And if we didn't move fast enough, there might not be.

He went from 'just killed my first monster' to 'I'm killing ten monsters every minute.' But even he was losing his energy boost. We were falling behind. We were losing.

"We can't take this anymore!" Thalia shouted. Then an arrow landed on the monster Thalia was fighting.

We looked to our left. A group of girls about ten to sixteen years old holding silver bows. One of them stepped forward.

"Help has arrived!" Bianca smiled.

**A/N: No one's reviewing! -_-**

**But thanks to those who_ did_ review the last chapter.**

**Please review this one!**


	43. Chapter 43

Fighting as if there's no tomorrow can really drain the life out of you. Just when I thought it was over, a bunch of adolescent girls arrived, shooting silver arrows. One of them smiled and waved at me. Is that who I think it is?

"Bianca?" I said, shocked.

"At your service." She replied.

"Where were you? What happened?" I asked. Having a conversation while trying not to be clobbered to death is hard, but curiosity took over.

"I got lost that time we were running from that Automaton. Then Lady Artemis found me and asked if I would like to become a Huntress. I accepted." She said calmly slicing of a drakon's head. Is that even possible?

"So you joined the Hunt? How'd it worked out?" Annabeth said, fighting of the monsters at my side.

"Well, immorality and eternal youth for one. But the catch is you have to swear off any contact with boys." Bianca explained.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Annabeth getting interested. I can understand that she hates boys right now, given what Luke did. But I hope she's not thinking what I think she's thinking.

I concentrated on fighting. Now that I was focused, I can see that, even with the Hunters, we have no chance of winning. Then something happened.

Out of the earth, undead skeletons rose. It was bone chilling and so scary, I almost shivered. I got my sword ready and headed towards them.

But then, Bianca held me back. "Wait."

So I stood there, watching. After the skeletons, a figure stepped from the darkness. Nico.

He looked much older. He looked at me. "There's no way I'm sitting this one out."

I felt like cheering. I hope he's on our side. I wondered if he still hated me.

"I'm fighting for you guys now." Nico said as if he could hear my thoughts. "But we can only distract them. Annabeth and you should sneak inside. We'll hold them off for as long as we can. Go!"

Annabeth and I looked at each other. I nodded. We ran past the monsters with Nico covering our backs. I noticed that every time he conjured up more skeletons, the more tired he looked. But I can't worry about that now. We arrived to that place we found the Lightning Bolt. And sure enough, it was there, attached to a dying Luke.


	44. Chapter 44

"Luke!" I ran towards him. But Percy held me back.

"Annabeth, he's on their side." He said tensely. "He betrayed us."

I broke away from his grasp. "You don't know him like I do."

I ran towards him. "Luke?"

His clear blue eves fluttered open. "Annabeth? You shouldn't have come. He is taking over me. After he gets the power from the Lightning bolt, he won't need me anymore. He's going to break free." He gasped in pain. "He's going to kill me."

"Who?" I asked in concern.

"Kronos." He grimaced.

"Annabeth, he could be tricking us." He glared at Luke. "A set up."

"Please, Annabeth." Luke pleaded. "Help me."

I stepped back from him. "You betrayed me, Luke."

He winced. "Please. Help me fight Kronos. He's going to kill you next."

Then his eyes changed its color. His clear blue eyes turned the color of melted gold.

"Perseus Jackson." He bellowed. His voice seemed to change too. It was deeper and darker.

"Kronos." Percy gulped.

"Prepare to die, young demigod." He moved towards Percy.

I gulped down my fear and mustered up all my courage. "Cliché much? Get original." I taunted him. I needed to get his attention away from Percy. I held out my knife. "Besides, you need to go through me first."

He laughed. It sent chills down my spine. "That could be arranged." He swung his scythe. I was fast but it missed me by just millimeters. He swung again. I deflected his blow.

"Attack plan Macedonia." I told Percy.

He nodded. He knows what that meant. While researching Ancient Greece I came across this battle tactic. While I will distract him on his front, Percy will attack from behind.

I thrust my knife at him. "Is that all you got?"

He scowled. "I am simply toying with you, young demigod."

While he was distracted Percy swung from behind. But Kronos just pushed him off. So much for that plan.

"Do you actually think you can defeat me?" He laughed.

He pinned me to the ground. I gasped with pain. Percy tried to pry him off me but he just warded him off.

He raised his scythe and prepared to slice off my head.

"Luke. I know you're still in there." I said desperately. "You won't do this to your little Annie, will you?"

Kronos' hand started shaking. He started convulsing. I was surprised it actually worked. He dropped the scythe. His eyes turned to blue. He collapsed on the ground writhing with pain.

"Luke?" I stood up cautiously.

"Annabeth..." He panted. "...Help...me."

"What do you want us to do?" Percy asked.

"Hand me your dagger." He said, looking at me. "I need to cut off the bond that anchors Kronos to me."

I looked at him suspiciously. Before all this, I would have handed it to him without a second thought. But all the trust that formed between us throughout those years is gone. I looked at Percy for confirmation. He too looked troubled but then he nodded. I handed him my knife. He grasped the handle. And gave us one last warning. "Once I cut it off the bond, he will be free from me. His aura will break lose. He will be stronger than ever. This will only last for a few minutes until his aura will return to Tarturus. But he will try hard to kill you. Until then, stay alive." He raised the knife and stabbed his left arm. It wasn't a deep cut but he howled in pain. He lost consciousness.

Then Kronos rose out. His presence made me want to lie down and die of fright. Think of the scariest movie you've watched. Think of the most evil villain. Then multiply that by ten. That should give you an idea of what his aura looked like.

He looked at me evilly. "You shall die!"


	45. Chapter 45

I was sweating like crazy, trying to deflect every blow Kronos threw at me. Both Annabeth and I were fighting but Kronos didn't even look winded.

"Give up, boy." He thrust his scythe at me. I jumped back.

"...Never..." panted. I couldn't keep this up.

Annabeth swung her knife at him but he knocked it off her hand. It clattered to the floor. It was dark so Annabeth felt around for it. This left only me fighting Kronos. He swung his scythe at me furiously. It was so fast, it was a blur. I barely deflected each blow. Finally, I had no energy to move at all.

He swung his scythe at me. I was too slow and drained of energy to hold up my sword. I would have been into pieces when Annabeth deflected the scythe. Having nothing to defend herself or me, she deflected it with her body. Blood gushed down and she collapsed at the ground.

It wasn't over yet. Kronos kicked Annabeth away. He swung his sword at me. Anger surged through me and I was able to fight again. I almost had him. I swung Riptide at him. But before it could connect, he disappeared. Back to Tarturus.

I collapsed on the ground. All my adrenaline left my body. I can barely think. I almost blacked out when a flash of light shone before my eyes. Apollo.

"Bravo, young demigod." He said clapping.

"I thought gods weren't allowed in here. Kronos' territory." I mumbled hazily. "That's why you made us do it."

"Well, Kronos is no longer here. And I came to offer medical help." Apollo bowed dramatically. "God of medicine at your service."

I just nodded. It made my head hurt even more.

He gave me a square of something that looks like brownies. It tasted like it too. He gave me something to drink. It tasted like my mom's homemade cookies after I ate and drank, I felt better instantly. I looked up in surprise.

"Nectar and ambrosia. Food for the gods. Magical stuff." He explained. "But don't eat too much. You'll burn up. Literally."

I said nothing. My head felt fuzzy. I can barely think. If you asked me my name, I probably couldn't tell you.

The nectar and ambrosia made me feel better but I still had no energy to sit up. So I stayed like that, sprawled on the floor.

"Percy." Thalia came up to me. She looked like she wanted to cry.

"Yeah?" I mumbled my words slightly slurred. "Wassup?"

"Percy, its Annabeth." She said hesitantly.

Her name jolted me up quickly. "Oh, gods. Is she okay?"

Thalia looked away. "She didn't make it."

Those words plunged in to my heart like a dagger. A poison tipped dagger. "You mean..." I let my words trail off, incomprehensively.

She covered her face. "She's dead."

I went into shock. "No... That can't be... It just can't..."

Thalia snapped at me. "Face it, Percy. She's gone."

**A/N ...Is it too late to say WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH? Sorry bout that...**


	46. Chapter 46

When Kronos' scythe entered my body, pain exploded throughout me. Then the next time I opened my eyes, I saw darkness.

"You got a drachma on you, demigod?" A man asked me. He was dressed formally, wearing a suit and tie.

"Um... No?" I said uncertainly.

"Drop it, Charon. She's with me." Another voice said. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness. I saw Nico.

Charon didn't look happy but he let us in the ferry. The ride was so gloomy and unbearable. I asked Nico questions to occupy myself. "Nico, what happened? Are the others still fighting?"

"No." Nico replied. "It was over a few minutes ago. I just dropped by to see that you get through."

I swallowed. "Is everyone okay? Percy? Thalia? Bianca?"

He looked away. "Everyone's fine. Suffering from minor injuries, but nothing major. Except for you."

I closed my eyes. It helps me think. "So I really am..." I couldn't continue.

**He** nodded grimly. "You don't look dead. Yet. But you're here..."

I looked around for the first time. "Where is here?"

He helped me off the ferry. "Elysium. Normally, you have to wait for trial first. But I pulled a few strings. Called in some favors."

I could smell barbecues grilling. The houses look great. Laughter echoed throughout the place. "Not bad."

He nodded. "Now it's up to you if you want to go for Isles of the Blest. You have to be reborn three times and achieve Elysium in all three. It's the ultimate place. But I think I'll leave you here for a while. Someone wants to see you. I'll visit soon." He stepped into the darkness and disappeared.

I stood still for a few seconds. Then I heard a voice I never thought I will hear again. "Annabeth?"

I ran towards them. "Dad! Matthew!"

My dad opened his arms for an embrace. "I've missed you."

I went towards him. "I missed you too." But before I could get any nearer, I doubled over. The pain was back but this time, stronger. I fought the excruciating pain. But I can't hold it off any longer. I howled with pain. And everything went black.

**A/N Hey, fanfictioners! **

**Sorry, I'm not writing fanfiction that much anymore. I'm already working on my original stories. **

**BUT I still had the time to finish this story for you guys. (Actually, I wrote this a long time ago. I actually finished the sequel to this already. And a sequel to the sequel to this book. I'll post them if you want me too.) **

**Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this. I just need to type them out. (They're on my notebook.) But for you people who are telling me that this is cheesy, please keep in mind that I wrote this when I was younger. **

**And about Annabeth's death, well, (*evil laugh*) you just have to wait and see what happens.**


	47. Chapter 47

I placed Annabeth's head on my lap. I couldn't believe it. I stroked her golden hair.

We have gone through so much together. It can't just end like this. So much stuff I've left untold. So much I want to tell her.

I glance at her face. She looked so peaceful. As if she was just asleep. "Wake up, Annabeth." I whispered.

I looked at the wound. The only indication that she wasn't still breathing. It was pretty bad. She died a hero. My hero.

I can't just let this happen. The ADHD part of me wanted to do something about it. But there was nothing left to do. Nothing I can so.

Tears stream down my cheeks. I've lost so much. My mom. My normal life. My home. And now my best friend. My closest friend. My confidant. The only one who can understand me and still stick around. How did I let myself lose her?

I rest my head on my hands. Apollo approached gently and poured nectar on her wound. Steam rose from it. I glanced up questioningly.

"It doubles as a disinfectant in a pinch." He explained. "We wouldn't want her wound infections to spread.

I just nod my head. I had no energy to say anything. I cover my face and start crying.

Then I heard a scream. I looked around to see who was making it. It took a few seconds to register on my brain to figure out who was screaming. When I finally figured it out, I decided that it was the best thing I've ever heard in my life.

It was Annabeth.


	48. Chapter 48

I stopped screaming "...Dad? ...Mathew?" I mumbled.

The pain was... indescribable. But I forced myself to open my eyes. I saw familiar sea green eyes peering at me.

"...Percy?" I groaned.

He sighed in relief. "Annabeth. You- You made it." I could see he had bags under his eyes. His cheeks were stained with tears.

"Wha-" I cleared my throat. "What happened?"

He smiled at me. "We did it. We defeated Kronos."

"You 'kay?" I mumbled almost incoherently.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I could tell that he was distracted. He looked at me as if he couldn't believe I was here. He grabbed my wrist ad felt for a pulse.

"It's there." Percy almost cried with relief. "You're alive!"

"'Guess so" I muttered.

"Thalia! Nico! She's okay!" Percy called out. They both came running.

"If this is some sick twisted joke, Jackson." Thalia shouted back. "I'm going to-" She stopped in her tracks when she saw me. "Annabeth." She whispered.

"So." Nico said casually. "We meet again. I should have told you weren't really dead. I can sense it in your aura. You were almost, though."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "You saw her in the Underworld? When exactly was that?"

Nico shrugged. "When I took a bathroom break. I thought once she reached Elysium, she would be a spirit then. But I guess not."

Percy hugged me. "I'm so glad you're back. I don't know what I'd do if you...if you..." He hugged me tighter.

"Ouch..." I complained.

Percy's eyes widened and he let me go instantly. "Oh, sorry." He turned to Thalia. "Go get Apollo."

Apollo flickered beside him. "Don't have to. I'm already here." He kneeled down beside me. "I'm going to take her in." He snapped his fingers and a stretcher and an ambulance. He tried to carry me to the stretcher but Percy was still holding on to my hand from when he checked for my pulse. He let go immediately. "Sorry." He mumbled, his cheeks turning slightly red. I can feel mine burning up too.

He cleared his throat. "How long will it take for Annabeth to fully heal?"

Apollo looked at me and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "In this condition? I'd say about a week."

"Just in time for school." I murmured happily. "Perfect."


	49. Chapter 49

Olympus was even more majestic than when I last saw it. Maybe it was because I didn't have time to enjoy it the first time or because they finished unpacking from their former Olympus. Maybe it was both.

There were Greek torches and marble pillars. And each throne was uniquely different to express each god's personality.

"Order!" Zeus boomed out. "Counsel meeting begins now."

Everyone snapped to attention.

"We must address the issue at hand. All in favor of rewarding these two young demigods?"

Majority of the hands rose. I saw Hera abstain. So did that wine god, Dionysius.

Zeus called out again. "All in favor of punishing Luke Castellan for betrayal, treason and treachery?"

All of them raised their hands. Except for Hermes. He just looked down not saying anything.

"Father." I said shakily. "May I speak?"

"Why do you not address the head of the court?" Zeus narrowed his eyes on me.

"Please, brother." My dad broke in. "He is new and does not the rules of the court." Then he looked at me. "Yet." He added sternly.

I nodded hastily.

"What do you wish to say?" My dad asked gently.

"May I choose my reward?" I asked meekly. I looked at Annabeth. She nodded encouragingly. "Annabeth and I" I continued. "Agreed that it was hard and painful to not know who both of your parents are. We request that you reveal yourself to them. Claim them."

Zeus looked absurd. "We can't care for all of them. There might be hundreds."

"We can make a summer camp for all of them." I proposed. "Camp Half-blood."

Zeus called out. "All in favor?" Majority of the hands rose. "Okay, it is granted. Anything else?"

"We wish to pardon Luke Castellan for his offenses." I added.

"What?" Zeus cried out in shock. "Young man, you do not know what you are asking."

"Please, sir. He can serve as Head councilor at Camp Half blood." Annabeth put in.

"All in favor? "Zeus said, bored. Again majority of hands went up. Hermes gave us a silent thank you.

"Are we done her?" Zeus asked.

"Lord Zeus, I am in need of a lieutenant for my Hunters." Artemis called out. "If she wishes to accept."

I felt my jaw drop in alarm. I looked at Annabeth. She was smiling in anticipation.

Please don't go. I tried to tell her with my eyes. Don't leave me. I need you.

She just glanced with confusion on her face.

Artemis continued. "Thalia Grace, will you join the Hunt?"

"I accept." Thalia replied.

"Think about this first." Zeus told her.

"Dad, I'm ready." she turned to Artemis. "What must I do?"

Bianca answered for her. "Say this, I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood and join the Hunt."

Thalia repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Bianca nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts you pledge, then it's binding." "I accept it." Artemis said.

Thalia took a deep breath. "I feel stronger."

After the council meeting, she walked over to me and gave me a hug.

I raised my eyebrows. "I thought you didn't do that anymore."

She smiled." I'm honoring a friend."

The best part of my visit happened a few minutes after the council meeting. My dad walked over to me. I didn't really know what to think of him. Sure he was my dad but he did leave me alone.

"Percy." He told me. "I just want you to know how proud I am of you. Well done."

I kept my face impassive, but inside, I was jumping for joy.


	50. Chapter 50

"So..." Thalia said to me after the council meeting. "Did you tell Percy that Artemis was offering for you to join the Hunt too? And that you declined?"

"Why would I want to tell him that?" I scoffed. "I didn't join because of Bobby. That's it. Nothing else."

She raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at Percy, who was talking to his dad. "Are you sure?"

I blushed. Before I can tell her off, my mom came. "Thalia, may I talk to my daughter for a few minutes?"

"Sure." To me she said. "Catch you later." She gave me a knowing look before taking off. I groaned.

"I do not approve of your friendship with that boy." She told me.

Before I could protest, she cut me off. "That's not what I came here. I wanted to tell you that I am proud of you."

"Thanks." I was still stinging from the earlier comment.

"And, we need someone to design the camp. We need a really good architect. Do you accept?" She smiled.

I beamed. "Yes! I mean, I accept." I am so excited. "But what will I do until next summer?"

"Try to enjoy a normal life."

I smiled. Being a demigod, that is impossible. But I'll certainly try.


	51. Chapter 51

Ring, ring.

I picked up my phone. "Annabeth?" I mumbled into it.

"Percy? Are you up yet?" My best friend, Annabeth said on the other end.

"I am now, Wise Girl." I sat up on my bed. "What's up?"

"Don't you know what day it is today?" I could almost hear her smirk through the phone. "It's September 11 already, Seaweed Brain."

"Already? It totally slipped my mind."

"Ever the Seaweed Brain." Annabeth replied. "Well, you better go downstairs. See ya."

I went downstairs. Annabeth was waiting for me at the Mess Hall, holding a blue cake.

"Surprise!" She said grinning at me.

We stuffed ourselves with cake. It was so good. I remember wishing that I had cake for breakfast every morning. After the last crumb has been inhaled, Annabeth turned to me.

"So, Thalia joined the Hunt, Nico is at the Underworld and Luke is running Camp Half blood. So where does that leave us?"

"Um... At school doing Algebra." I told her.

She laughed. "Oh, and Rachel is going to be the new Oracle. I guess that means no more dating for her."

"You don' sound disappointed." I noticed.

"Oh, I don't care." She shrugged.

"Uh-huh."

She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

"You'd probably kick my butt."

"You know I'll kick your butt."

"You know that time when you took an unexpected detour to the Underworld?" I started nervously.

"Yeah?"

"I had so many things I wanted to say to you. And, well..." I trailed off awkwardly.

"How people our age live normal lives anyway?" I asked changing the subject.

"Well, they hang out with friends, do school work, and go out on dates..." She said casually.

I turned red. "So, uh do you want to?"

She looked at me innocently. "Want to what?"

"You know, go out..."

"Go out?"

"Gods, Annabeth, you are so not making this easy." I complained.

"I am never, ever, going to make things easier, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

I took a deep breath. I was blushing like crazy but I decided to jump at it.

"So, a date. Friday night? Movie and dinner? My treat." I rushed out.

Annabeth smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Wow. It's been a long time since I've left an A/N**

**This isn't the last chapter. There's one more. Stay tuned.**


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N Sorry, not what you're expecting, huh?**

Percy and I went to the World Trade Center site to pay tribute to the ones who died. we just sat there, looking around.

The anger and sadness I feel whenever I visit is still there. But only slightly. Maybe someday it will go away completely.

I remembered something. I pulled it out of my pocket. "Here. Happy Birthday." I handed Percy a clay bead. It's blue with a green trident on the middle. "To remind you of everything that happened between your last birthday and this one.

Percy slipped it through his leather necklace. He smiled at me a bit sadly but also a bit hopeful. "We certainly did go through a lot, huh?"

I think of my dad and Matt in the Underworld. At least they are okay.

My mind wanders to Percy's 13th birthday. So much has happened since then. We lost our families then found new one. We are no longer just normal teenagers but demigods. It was a crazy year. And, with the life of a demigod, it's just going to get crazier.

I thought of Luke, who let his anger and sadness about his mother reside in him. It made him resentful and made him do rash things. I still can't forget what the gods did to my family but at least I forgave them. One step at a time.

We sat there in silence for a while, deep in our thoughts. Then Percy turned to me. "Race you to the road?"

"You are so going to lose." I took off.

Percy sprinted behind me. And for the first time, neither of us looked back.

**A/N**

**The End!**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**No, really. That's the end.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Come on, it's already chapter 52! You guys want more? You guys want a _sequel?_**

**_._**

**_._**

**_._**

**Fine, coming out soon! Tell me first if you're going to stick around for it, because I don't want to write for nobody.**

**The sequel will have...**

**More surprises!**

**More characters!**

**More adventure**

**More Percabeth!**

**Stay tuned.**


	53. Chapter 53

Introducing…

911's sequel

THE ROAD TO THE UNDERWORLD

You guys excited?

Well, you should be.

Because…

CHAPTER 1 IS NOW UP!

I'm too lazy to writ publish a new story so I'm putting them as the next chapters of this book.

Hope you like them!


	54. Chapter 54

Percy's POV

"Hey, Perce." Grover called out. "You ready for your date with Annabeth?"

"I've been. Since two hours ago." I replied.

"Why are you so nervous, anyway? You've been dating for two years already. You never got used to dating her." Grover said.

My face burned. "I just don't want to blow it. I don't want to lose her, just like the last time when she di..." I realized I was saying that out loud. I wasn't supposed to say anything about that. Even to Grover, who's been my best friend since I was fourteen. Two years ago.

"When she what?" Grover asked.

"Never mind. Wanna go outside and shoot some hoops?"

"But you just said you had a date!" Grover chuckled.

"Oh... Right." I mumbled.

"Just tell me if you don't want to go." Annabeth came from around the corner.

Just how long was she listening? With my luck, she heard the wrong parts.

"No, no. I'd rather go out to dinner with you than play basketball. I don't like basketball that much. I prefer swimming." I babbled.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. That came out wrong." Grover laughed. "Nah, Annabeth. He's been so excited for your date that he was ready since two hours ago. He just got flustered about talking about it so he just changed the subject. Without thinking about it."

Annabeth laughed. I blushed.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain." She grabbed my arm. "Let's shoot some hoops before going to dinner."

"No, it's okay." I gulped. "Really." Annabeth could beat anybody at just about any sport. When I asked her how, she gave me a long speech about planning and strategy.

"This is getting interesting. But sadly, I have to go. Later!" Grover bolted. I stifled a laugh. He can't beat Annabeth in any sport either. Unless you count eating enchiladas as a sport.

"Chicken." Annabeth scoffed. "Afraid you're going to lose?"

"Yes, yes I am." I said truthfully.

"KJ." Annabeth muttered.

"How about we go swimming instead?" I suggested. I know she will turn it down. Even though she is not bad at it either, she can't seem to beat me. I win without effort. Perks of being the son of Poseidon.

"Show off." She said smugly. "How about we..."

This is going to be an interesting night.


	55. Chapter 55

Annabeth's POV

"This is so good." I marveled, forking a piece of olive from my Greek salad.

"Wow. You really hate olives." Percy said sarcastically while I ate the olives from his plate.

"My mom is Athena, after all." I replied.

"What does that have to do with your olive obsession?" He smirked.

"Oh, nothing. She was just the one who created it. That's it." I said smugly.

"I'm sensing a lecture." Percy said. I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me of saying, "Oh, no. I was right. Lecture alert, everybody!"

People shot looks at us. I decided to punish Percy by giving him the much deserved lecture.

"My mom and Poseidon-" I saw Percy's eyes sparking with interest when he heard a mention about his father. "-wanted to be the patron god of Athens. Your dad made a saltwater spring and Athena made an olive tree. My mom won."

"Because of olives?" Percy said, incredulously. "I don't even like olives. Now if she invented pizza that I'll understand."

"Never mind." I sighed.

"So sorry to interrupt your very interesting conversation about olives." A voice said. We looked around in alarm but we couldn't where it was coming from. Then a figure stepped out from nowhere. We jumped.

"Nico? What the Hades?" Percy exclaimed. "How'd you get here?"

"Shadow traveling." I answered for Nico.

"Correct." Nico said. "Now are you going to ask why I went here? Or shall we continue this useless chatter?"

"I knew you didn't just stop by to catch up." Percy sighed. "So what's up?"

"More like what's down." Nico laughed at his own joke. Then he became serious. "I found a way to get your parents back."

"What?" Percy and I said at the same time.

"You heard me. You could get into the Underworld, get your mom, or in Annabeth's case her dad and brother and come back with them." Nico replied.

"It's that easy?" I asked skeptically.

"I wouldn't say that." Nico said darkly. "Now are you going or not?"

Percy looked at me. "But what about our date?" He said plaintively.

I laughed. "Percy, if I get to see dad and Matt again, this will be the best date ever."


	56. Chapter 56

**Percy's POV**

"We're in." I announced.

"So, how are we going to do it?" Annabeth asked.

Nico looked around. "Let's not talk about it here. Hold on." He grabbed our arms.

Everything turned black. It was so dark; I couldn't even see a thing. I can almost feel my skin peeling of from going way too fast. And I was shivering. In other words, shadow traveling was awesome.

I fell to my butt as soon we arrived. I stood up shakily and looked around. We were back at my room.

"We could have just walked." I said woozily.

"He just likes showing off." Annabeth said retying her ponytail.

"Why are you helping us, anyway?" I asked. Nico and I were really good friends until after one mission. That day I lost his sister. He hated me for a while but now, I'm kind of confused.

Nico looked troubled. "Because I know you would help me if Bianca died."

I nodded grimly. Bianca didn't die but she became a Hunter, a group of girls who sworn off any male contact for eternity.

"Okay, back to business." Nico dusted his pants. "What do you guys know about Orpheus?"

I had no idea, but as usual, Annabeth knew the answer. "You mean that poet guy who tried to bring his wife from the dead?"

Nico nodded. "Eurydice. I saw her around a couple of times. She said her husband would have made it if he wasn't so curious."

I shuddered. The idea of talking to the dead creeped me out. Then realization dawned on me. "Wait, he didn't succeed?"

"No. He disobeyed the only command given to him." Annabeth replied. "Not to look back until he got out of the Underworld."

"How did he get in, anyway?" I mused.

"Through music." Nico replied. "So, how's your singing skills?"

**A/N Hey, how come you guys aren't reviewing anymore? Does this sequel suck? Should I stop?**


	57. Chapter 57

"Uh..." Percy looked troubled." Me? Singing? Um..."

"I can sum that up in two words." I volunteered. "No. Way."

"I know someone who can help." Percy offered.

"So do I." I said.

"Grover." Percy and I said at the same time. I smiled.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Can he sing?"

"No." Percy replied. "But he says he's pretty good at the reed pipes."

Nico looked at me questioningly. I could tell exactly what he was thinking. I nodded. Percy looked confused.

"He doesn't know anything about demigods though." Percy said apologetically.

"Let's see about that." Nico said mysteriously. "Call him in."

Percy left to get Grover.

"Percy doesn't know?" Nico asked me.

I shook my head. "He has no idea."

"But how did you know?" He wondered.

"Easy." I replied. "I asked him. It was obvious once I saw him chewing on a diet soda can."

"And you didn't tell him?" Nico asked, surprised.

"Grover told me not to. Dionysus would get really angry if Percy found out. The gods are spying on Percy because of some prophecy told by Rachel." I explained. "I was sworn into secrecy."

"So-" Nico stopped talking as Grover and Percy came in.

"Okay, I briefed Grover in." Percy said. Then to me he whispered, not everything though. Not about us being demigods. I just told him that he's going to play music to a bunch of rocks."

"Okay." I whispered back guiltily. I hate keeping secrets from him. And I was worried since Grover is a really bad liar.

"So are you guys ready to go?" I said loudly.

"Let me get my cap. It's raining outside." Grover hurried out to get his cap. His curly hair covered his horns well enough but when it gets wet, it shows. He came back wearing a Rasta cap. "I'm ready."

Nico looked at us. "Let's get going then."


	58. Chapter 58

Percy's POV

The rain was pouring hard and by the time we got to Central Park, we were soaking wet. Being the son of Poseidon, I only get wet when I wanted too but I willed my clothes to absorb water for Grover's sake.

I hung back a few paces to talk to Nico. "I don't get why we can't just shadow travel to the Underworld instead of asking Grover to play music to the rock. Seems like a long shot to me."

Nico squinted his eyes at the rain. "Well, I can't travel that far with two people. It took time for me to learn shadow raveling. And a few accidental trips to China."

"How about-" I started then Nico stopped walking.

"We're here!" He announced. He walked over a pile of rocks.

I glanced at it incredulously. "This is it?"

"Yep." Nico said. "The closest portal to the Underworld."

Grover took out his reed pipes. And walked over to the rocks. He always did walk funny, sort of limping. He trotted over but then slipped in the mud. His cap fell off revealing two bumps on his head. Horns.

My jaw fell open. "What the-"

**A/N****: Sorry, short. Don't worry, I'll update soon.**


	59. Chapter 59

Annabeth's POV

Percy took out Riptide and pointed it at Grover. "Who- What are you?" He demanded.

I helped Grover up. "Wait, Percy. He's on our side." I nodded at Grover.

"I guess you deserve the truth." Grover sighed. "The gods told me to look after you." He took off his right shoe, revealing not a foot, but a hoof. "I'm a satyr."

Percy stared at it in disbelief. "Half donkey?"

Grover looked insulted. "Goat! Half goat." He bleated.

Percy recovered from his initial shock. "And you didn't tell me?" He shouted angrily. "I thought you were my best friend."

"I am!" Grover cried. "I just-"

Percy ignored him. He turned to me. "And you knew? All this time?"

"I didn't really know. I just suspected." I defended myself.

"And you didn't even mention it to me?" Percy said furiously. "I thought we told each other everything. That we don't lie to each other." He added softly.

"Technically, I didn't lie to you. You never asked." I pointed out. Okay, that was a lame response. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

"Annabeth. I thought we trusted each other." He said quietly.

I looked at him but he wouldn't meet my eyes. "Percy, it isn't like that. I wasn't-"

Percy ignored me. He turned to Nico. "Is there any other way to the Underworld?"

Nico looked surprised. "Yeah. But it's at LA."

Percy hardened his voice. "Then we better get going." Nico didn't move. "Please." Percy pleaded.

Nico followed him into the road.

I looked at Grover. "I guess we are on our own now." I said. "Let's get moving."

And just like that, Percy and I parted ways.

**A/N: You know, reviews just might make me update faster. With longer chapters... Just saying. See that blue button down there? Only three people clicked it the last chapter. Come on, people, REVIEW!**


	60. Chapter 60

"Come on, Percy. How are we going to go to LA? I can't shadow travel yet. I sill need to regain my strength. I just traveled from the Underworld a few hours ago." Nico told me while we were walking to the nearest bus station.

I dried myself. "We hitch a ride." I pulled out some crisp bills out of my pocket. "A certain son of Hermes taught me some tricks."

Nico looked at me suspiciously, you mean you-"

I cut him off. "Nah. I just asked Luke if I can give sword lessons at Camp. And Luke got Dionysus to give me a hefty salary."

"Dionysus is the head of the camp now?" Nico asked me.

"Yeah. Mr. D was punished by Zeus so he was sentenced to Camp Halfblood." I explained.

"Oh. So, how's camp?" Nico asked me.

"It's going great." I replied. "You chould see the cabins Annabeth designed..." I trailed off. Annabeth. Was I too harsh? I just got really mad at her.

Nico looked at me worriedly. "Percy about that-"

I cut him off. "Let's not talk about it. Okay?"

He looked like he wanted to say more. But he kept his mouth shut. We walked in silence.

I can't stop thinking about Annabeth. I hope she doesn't try to go to the Underworld by herself. Without Nico, none of us actually stood a chance. I know she can do more than defend herself but still. It was too dangeroud. But knowing Annabeth... I can't help but get worried.


	61. Chapter 61

Annabeth's POV

Planned, packed and prepared, I went back to Central Park with Grover. I went back home after Percy left, just so that he won't think I'm going to the Underworld. Which I am.

"Come on, goat boy." I growled picking up my pace. "We don't have all night."

Grover clip-clopped behind me. "Underground." he murmured to himself. "I hate underground. No trees, no flowers..."

"You don't have to go." I reminded him. "Just open the freaking rock and I'll be on my way."

"Of course I'm going." Grover retorted. "I can't let you go by yourself. Besides, this way, At least I have some chance of looking after Percy. If anything happens to him, Mr. D will get mad." Grover shuddered. "Really mad."

"You really think we're going to run into him down there?" I said. "The Underworld's pretty big."

"You both are going to the same place. Elysium."

I looked away. "I wonder if he's still mad at me."

Grover looked at me sympathetically. "He didn't give you time to explain. If he knew why you didn't tell him, I'm sure he'll understand."

"Yeah. Of course..." I mumbled.

"I should have told him I was a satyr before this." Grover said apologetically.

I shook my head. "It's not going to change anything. That guy has serious trust issues." I stopped in front a slab of rock. I turned to Grover. "Do your thing."

Grover took out his reed pipes and played a tune that sounded oddly like Hillary Duff's So Yesterday. The rock split open, revealing a tunnel underneath.

Here goes nothing, I thought as I crawled into the darkness. Into the Underworld.

**A/N Chapters are only going to get shorter if you guys don't review!**


	62. Chapter 62

**Percy's POV**

Have a nice and happy trip!

Yeah, right.

The bus was stuffed with people. The one seated in front of me got carsick and started vomiting. A kid sat behind me, and he won't stop kicking my chair and whining 'Are we there yet?' over and over again.

Next to me, Nico was snoring. Shadow traveling really got a lot out of him, more than he is willing to admit.

I couldn't get some rest though. I twisted and turned. But I must have slept at some point because I had a dream. Of Annabeth.

Annabeth and Grover were walking through a tunnel. They came to two turns.

"Where to?" Grover asked.

Annabeth looked around. "Oh... This isn't good."

Grover looked alarmed. "What? Don't you recognize this place?"

"That's just it. I do. This is exactly what I was afraid of." Annabeth replied. "We're in the Labyrinth."

I woke up with a start. Then I shook Nico to wake up.

"Wha- Huh?" He mumbled.

"Nico, wake up! Annabeth and Grover are in some kind of Labyrinth." I said urgently.

That did it. Nico shook his head. "Demigod dreams?"

I nodded.

"Did she say labyrinth. As in The Labyrinth?" Nico said worriedly.

"What is the Labyrinth anyway?" I asked.

"You know Theseus?" Nico said slowly. I nodded. "So you know about how Theseus fought the Minotaur of King Minos in the Labyrinth. That Labyrinth."

"Oh... I don't like the Minotaur." I said plaintively. I fought him before. Monsters don't actually die. They just go to Tarturus and reform after a while. "Is that why the Labyrinth is bad news? Because of the Minotaur? I'm sure Annabeth can handle that."

"No, the Minotaur isn't the problem." Nico waved it off. "As far as I know, he's not yet reforming."

"Then what is it?" I asked. "Annabeth can handle a maze."

"It's not just a maze." Nico explained. "It kept growing for centuries now. I expect it to be as big as America. It's huge and filled with monsters. If Annabeth doesn't know the way, she could get lost in there. Forever."

Guilt stabbed my chest. Why did I insist on separating? What have I done?

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, you guys. Since you gave me 11 comments, I'll publish two chapters today! See? Good things happen when you review. Well, enjoy!**


	63. Chapter 63

Annabeth's POV

"What now?" Grover asked me.

"Wait." I closed my eyes. "I'm thinking.

"If Mount Olympus in Greece is 40°06'N, 22°23'E and it shifted to Empire State Bldg. at 40°44'54.36"N, 23°59'08.50"W, that's roughly 4714 km apart." I mumbled to myself. "Then that means that the center of the Labyrinth, Crete, which is 35.33906°N, 25°10935E must have shifted to..." I ran a quick calculation on my head.

"What are you even talking about?" Grover interrupted my thoughts.

"Longitudes and latitudes."

"How does that help us?" Grover grumbled. "We can't even find that entrance we came from."

"But…" I looked around. I can't see where we entered from anymore.

"Besides," Grover reminded me. "Distance is different in magical places. Got any other plan?"

"Well, the one who built this place, Daedalus, is a child of Athena. He should have kept some blueprints or maybe a map of this place. So we head to Daedalus' workshop get those blueprints and use it to get around." I said triumphantly. "Sounds like a plan."

"But how are we supposed to get to Daedalus' workshop?" Grover pointed out.

"Well..." I paused to think. "Logically, Daedalus' Workshop will be at the oldest part of this place. So we follow the old crumbly walls. I guess."

"Maybe." Grover said doubtfully.

"Look, it's our only chance, okay?" I said desperately. Then I suddenly had an idea. I dug into my backpack. I didn't like the idea but desperate times calls for desperate measures.


	64. Chapter 64

**Percy's POV**

"All right. This is our stop." Nico told me.

"Wait, aren't we going to LA? This is still Las Vegas." I reminded him.

"I have to pick something up." Nico got off the bus. "And then we can shadow travel to LA."

"Okay." I followed him. "Where to?"

"Just follow me." Nico walked forward.

A few blocks later, a man stopped us.

"Hello. Welcome to Lotus Hotel." He called out cheerfully.

"Thanks. But we're just passing through." I said politely.

"But sir, here are your complimentary Lotus cards. They can be used anywhere in this hotel. The Arcade, the restaurants, the waterparks... everything." He handed us room keys.

I shook my head. "We don't have money, sir."

"It's free. All of it. Absolutely free." He insisted.

I took a peek inside. And my mind was blown. Think of the biggest waterpark you've been too. Then add in Disney World, Universal Park and a five star hotel. And times that by ten, put them all in one building and that should give you a slight idea on how the Lotus Hotel looked like. And hey, I was tired and hungry. And I've never experienced something like this. I looked at Nico. He shrugged.

I took the card from the door man. I looked at Nico. I grinned. "Game on."

**A/N: REVIEW!**


	65. Chapter 65

**Annabeth's POV**

I dialed the number. The dial tone echoed throughout the walls.

She picked up. "Hello?"

I smiled. "Hey, Rachel."

"Hey, Annabeth! How are you? How's it going with you and Percy?"

My smile disappeared. "Not so good on both counts. Anyway, I don't have much time now, so listen carefully."

I took a deep breath. I didn't like this. Even though, Rachel and became close friends, I still don't like the idea of needing help. "I'm trapped in the Labyrinth. And according to the legend, Ariadne helped Theseus go through it. She was like you, a clear sighted mortal."

"Oh... That is bad." Rachel mumbled. "Isn't it Ariadne's string that guided them?"

"It helped. But mostly it was Ariadne." I explained.

"Sorry, Annabeth. I can't get there in time. My parents sent me to some finishing school in the middle of nowhere. But I might be able to help. Send me a picture of that tunnel you're in. I might be able to tell you directions."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks!" I liked this idea better than Rachel traipsing down the Labyrinth with us. I snapped a photo of the tunnel with my cellphone and sent it to Rachel. "Did you get it?" I asked a few seconds after sending.

"Yup. It's taking a while to load though." Rachel replied. "Quick question, how come you have service down there?"

"My mom and Hermes came up with a new phone just for demigods. It doesn't attract monsters when a demigod calls -like a normal phone would- and it has signal everywhere. And unlimited memory and internet signal everywhere." I listed off.

"Oh, cool! I want one! Is it available for- Oh wait," She interrupted herself. "The photo came up. Okay, where are you heading to?"

"Daedalus' workshop."

"Hmm... Do you see anything indented into the walls? Shaped like the Greek letter Delta?"

I looked around. "Nothing."

"The mist is making this harder. Try pressing random scratches at the walls."

I scanned the wall and saw a triangular shaped indention. I pressed it. It glowed blue then a Greek letter appeared. Delta.

"So I just follow the Deltas?" I asked.

"Yup. That should get you to the Daedalus'' workshop. Be careful, okay? And whatever it is between you and Percy, fix it. You guys shouldn't let anything get between you. Forgive Percy from time to time; we already know how much of an airhead he can be. And punch his arm for me! That's for ruining my fave couple."

I laughed. "Will do. Thanks, Rach. Bye!" I hung up.

I turned to Grover. "We have a plan."

Hours turned to days as we navigated through the maze. It took a crashing noise for me to realize that I made a mistake. A big one. There's one factor I forgot to add into the equation. But now, it's too late.

Grover looked at me and whispered one word. "Monsters."


	66. Chapter 66

**Percy's POV**

I was having the time of my life. I bungee jumped the lobby three times, tried all of the waterslides and played video games. Best three hours ever. Nico and I agreed to meet up in a few hours. We pigged out at the hotel buffet. I have never been so full in my entire life.

While Nico was playing some game about something like a Zombie Apocalypse, I went out to try my hand at surfing. There was this really cool surfing simulator that copied the effects of surfing. There was even ocean water inside. Being a son of Poseidon and all, I thought it would be a piece of cake. But balancing on that board is taking a while for me to get used to.

In my third try, I managed time finally stand up on the board. Before I can celebrate, the mist being created by the ocean spray shimmered.

Annabeth appeared on the mist.

"Not now." I said, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Percy, snap out of it. Where are you?" Annabeth said urgently.

"Go 'way." I grunted as I got back on the surfboard.

"Oh, no. Get out of there! You're in the Lotus Hotel, aren't you? That explains why no one has heard from you for days now."

"What?" I said, still distracted by the game.

"Snap out of it!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Listen, I have to tell you something important."

"Can't it wait?" I complained.

"No!" Annabeth shouted. "I don't have time for this right now. I can't tell you if you won't listen. So, LISTEN UP!"

"Huh, what?" I mumbled.

Then a growling sound came from behind Annabeth. She shrieked and grabbed her knife.

That jolted me out of my trance. "Annabeth? I'm-"

"Look, I'm kind of busy." She snapped. "I just wanted to tell you tha-" The monster lunged and cut the connection.

"Wait! Annabeth!" I swept at the mist. But it was too late. She was gone.


	67. Chapter 67

**Annabeth's POV**

"Well, that was a waste of my drachma." I muttered as I faced the monster.

"Where are they?" Grover asked me.

"Taking a vacation at Lotus Hotel." I rolled my eyes.

"But isn't that-"

"Yeah," I agreed.

The monster didn't seem to be interested in killing us. So I pointed my flashlight towards it. A Sphinx. Oh, great.

"You must answer my riddles before passing my territory." it purred.

"A riddle?" I took out my knife. "I love riddles!" Then I chopped her head off. "Oops."

"Hurry! There might be more coming!" Grover yelled frantically as he trotted forward, pressing the walls for the Delta.

We went on like this until we couldn't take it anymore.

Panting, I put my hands on my knees. "Rest...We should...Rest..." I leaned on the wall and took a swig of water from my canteen. I offered some to Grover but he just shook his head.

After a few minutes of catching our breaths, I stood up. "Let's get going."

We walked around for a bit then we came upon a dead end.

"The Delta should be here somewhere." I muttered scanning the wall.

Then Grover grabbed my arm. "Annabeth, wait. I think we're here."

I looked at the tunnel where we just came from and in its place was an office sliding glass door. It had the symbol Delta glowing just above the door handles. Daedalus' Workshop.


	68. Chapter 68

**Percy's POV**

"Nico." I tapped his shoulder.

"Later." He mumbled his focus on the video game.

"Nico!" I shook his shoulders.

"Can't it wait?" He groaned.

Sighing, I grabbed a water bottle and dumped the entire content on his head. "Wake up!"

That did it. He shook his head, spraying drops of water everywhere. "Sheesh, Percy. You didn't have to do that."

"You wouldn't snap out of it." I shrugged. "We should go."

Nico glanced wistfully at the arcade center. "Right."

Once we got out, I looked at Nico urgently. "Annabeth and Grover are in trouble."

Nico frowned. "What day is it today?"

I shrugged. "Monday."

A tourist passing by laughed. "It's already Thursday."

My eyes widened. "Already? We were in there for four days?"

"It felt like a few hours." Nico muttered.

I placed my face on my hands. "Man, did we mess up. Big time. I hope Annabeth and Grover are okay." I checked my pockets. "Do you have a drachma?" I asked Nico. "Maybe we can contact them.

"No. Sorry." Nico said.

"I really hope they're okay." I repeated. And alive. I added silently.

"I hope they're still in the Labyrinth." Nico said worriedly.

"Why?" I asked.

"My dad doesn't like visitors. He, uh, likes to make sure they're dead before they enter his realm." Nico explained.

Realization dawned on me. "You mean..."

Nico nodded. "Their only hope is that we get to the Underworld before them."


	69. Chapter 69

**Annabeth's POV**

"Whoa." I murmured as I stepped into the door. It was so hi-tech that it would have made a PSP look like a Gameboy.

"Shouldn't we try to contact Percy and Nico?" Grover asked me uncertainly.

"Nah." I waved it off. "I'm down to my last drachma and we have no idea if they're still having their vacation in Lotus Hotel. Lucky, I'd pick a five-star hotel over running around a monster infested maze any day. If I try to call them and Percy is still dazed, we would just waste another drachma."

"So what are we looking for?" Grover said.

"A map. Blueprints. Schematics. Anything that could help us finds our way out of here." I replied. I spotted a laptop. It looked like a Mac but instead of the usual apple, it had the Greek letter Delta on it. "Maybe this can help."

I tapped the spacebar and the screen flickered to life. It was on the Log-in page.

"Whoa, it's either Daedalus is still alive and was just here a few hours ago or he left this running for centuries. Great battery life. I'm going with the second." Grover mumbled.

"Well, whatever. We have to be here before he arrives. What in the world is the password?" I tapped on the desk impatiently.

"Why don't you try 'Quintus'?" A voice replied behind us. I froze. We weren't alone after all.


	70. Chapter 70

**Percy's POV**

"Follow me." Nico walked briskly. I followed him. He stopped in front a store. Crusty's Water bed Emporium.

"What are we-" I started to ask but Nico already went inside.

"Hello boys," A man said. "Interested in a water bed?"

"Sure." Nico got out his sword and cut his head cleanly off. The man exploded into dust.

"Hey!" I protested.

"He's a scum bag of a monster." Nico replied nonchalantly. "He lets customers lie down to test his beds then he traps them and stretches them to death if they aren't as big as the bed. If they're too tall, he chops off whatever hangs out. Really, I'm doing people a favor."

He headed towards the counter and got a fistful of drachma.

"I knew you didn't just do that from the goodness of your heart." I smirked.

"We needed the drachma." Nico shrugged. "It's not as if Dad gives me allowance." He tossed me a drachma. "Here. Go contact them."

"Maybe later." I put it in my pocket. I needed to figure out what I'm going to say to Annabeth first. Man, am I in trouble. And I really didn't want to talk to her. Not just yet. I'm still stinging from he Grover incident.

"Percy. I know you don't want to talk about it. But just hear me out."Nico told me. "Grover wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Strict orders from Mr. D. If Annabeth told you about Griver, you could be sure he will be punished. Severely. You know Mr. D. And he's going to relace Grover with someone who might not be as friendly."

My eyes widened. "So she was just trying to protect my best friend. And me. Man, and I didn't even see that. I was so selfish..."

Nico nodded. "Ready to IM her now?"

I looked at him ."Why do we need to IM if I can tell her face to face? Let's go to the Underworld."


	71. Chapter 71

**Annabeth's POV**

"Daedalus?" I asked uncertainly.

The old man laughed. "I go by Quintus now. Fifth life. Get it?" He took in Grover's blank face. "Eh. Never mind. What brings you to my territory?"

"Um... We were looking for some blueprints of this place. We need a way to get to the Underworld. If it's not too much to ask." I put in hastily.

"Smart. Child of Athena?" He grunted approvingly.

I nodded.

Grover's eyes widened. "So he's like your half-brother or something? Whoa. He's old enough to be your great-great-great-great-" Grover took a deep breath. "Great-great-" Then he looked at Daedalus' scowling face. "Uh, grandfather." Grover mumbled.

"Alright, I get it. I'm old." Daedalus sighed.

"Really old." Grover muttered under his breath. Daedalus shot him a warning look.

"I've been waiting for a demigod- A child of Athena, preferably- to come by. I want to rest. But I need to pass of my inventions." He handed me the laptop. "Here. It is you responsibility now. All the blueprints I ever created, of unfinished projects, and the Labyrinth, of course, is all in this laptop. Use it well."

I looked at him flabbergasted. "Whoa. Really?" I felt as if it was Christmas and my birthday at the same time. "But I can't take this. Wouldn't you want to be the one who invents these?"

Daedalus looked away sadly. "I have created enough trouble. Though, there is something else." He gave a sharp whistle. A hellhound came scampering over. "This is Miss O'Leary. I need you to take care of her. At least find her a good home."

I reached out to scratch her ears. "I know someone who always wanted a dog." Percy. He would get a kick out of this one. I just hope he's not still angry.

"Thanks, Daedalus." I looked up but he was gone. I grabbed the laptop.

I logged in and looked opened a file labeled 'Labyrinth'. A program opened. It looked like an advanced version of Google Earth. I pressed the GPS mode. "There are twenty-seven possible entries to the Underworld. The nearest entrance is in 500 meters. In twenty meters turn left..."

I looked at Grover. "We got a map and a plan. Let's get going."


	72. Chapter 72

"You sure you know where we're going?" Grover asked me for like the hundredth time already.

"Yep." I replied, straining to keep my patience. "Almost there."

"You said that two hours ago. My hooves are aching." Grover grumbled.

I shrugged. "You can ride Ms. O'Leary if you want."

Grover looked at the huge dog. "No thanks." He didn't complain after that.

I ran through Daedalus' designs while walking. "Some of these are actually pretty awesome." I said approvingly.

"Hey, Annabeth?" Grover said suddenly.

I didn't look up from the laptop. "Yeah?" Then I crashed into a wall. "Oomph."

"Watch where you're going." Grover finished.

"Gee, thanks." I mumbled sarcastically while rubbing my head.

"Destination up ahead." The GPS intoned. "One point five meters forward."

"What does it want us to do?" Grover said incredulously. "Walk through the wall?"

"Hmm..." I studied the slab of rock. "Maybe."

"Are you kidding me?" Grover shook his head. "That's going to take years to tunnel through."

I rapped at the wall. A hollow sound. "Just like I thought." I karate chopped at the wall. A huge hunk fell. "Paper Mache."

"Some security." Grover munched at the wall. "Delicious though."

We punched our way through. (Actually, I did. Grover munched his way through.) Grover pocketed a piece of the fake wall.

"For later." He explained.

I just shook my head.

"How are we supposed to find Elysium in a place like this?" I fiddled with the laptop. "The GPS is not working here."

"How 'bout we ask for directions" Grover suggested. "Go ask him." He pointed to a guy rolling up a rock up a hill.

"Why me?" I didn't want to go asking directions. Especially not from that guy.

"Because you're a girl." Grover replied.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I said exasperated.

"Well..." Grover thought for a while. "Do you have some other plan?"

"Just go ask him I'll stay right here and try to reprogram the GPS. Maybe there's a program for the Underworld or something..."

I typed a few commands on the laptop. Nothing. Grover came back.

"So?" I asked expectantly.

"Nothing." Grover sighed. "The guy just laughed his head off."

"Let's just keep walking. I can't send an iris message to Nico and Percy here. No Mist to work with." I said "Come on."

We walked around for a while. Then I felt the back of my neck prickling. We weren't alone.

Then I saw it. There were a lot of them. I felt my body stiffen up in fright. I tried to scream but no sound came out. My face paled. I shut my eyes. Anything but this.


	73. Chapter 73

Nico led me up a hill. Puffing and panting, I put my hands on my knees. "Remind me, why are we here again?

"We can ask Sisyphus where Annabeth and Grover are. The only entrances from the Labyrinth are right here. So on top of this hill, I'm sure he saw them if they came." Nico explained. Then he pointed to a shabby man rolling up a boulder. "There he is."

I was having regrets about this plan more and more. "Why is he rolling up that rock?"

"His eternal punishment. Has to roll up that rock for eternity. It always roles down after reaching the top." He tapped Sisyphus. "Excuse me. We were wondering if you happen to see a satyr and a demigod pass by."

Sisyphus looked at him. Then he laughed. In his glee, he lost his grip on the boulder and it began to roll down. "Rats." He shouted, running after the rolling rock.

I looked at Nico. "Now what? How are we supposed to find them? Where can they be?"

Then in the background we heard a shrill voice screaming. "Help! Sp-sp-spiders!"

Nico came running down the hill. "I think we just found them."

We ran towards the sound. From a distance, I could see Annabeth. She was cornered up by a huge spider as big as a German shepherd. Another humongous spider was battling a hellhound. Grover was tangled up in a web. Several other spiders crawled around. They were as big as basketballs. Annabeth shrieked.

I ran faster.

Annabeth's eyes radiated pure terror. Then a spider came closer until it was just two feet away from her. Her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes gleamed with anger. She went to full battle mode. She began hacking spiders left and right. When I finally got to her, all the spiders were on the ground, dead.

I stepped closer to her but she did' see me. She was still slashing her knife around. She raised her knife towards me. I flinched.

She blinked. "Percy?"

I had no idea what to say. I tried to apologize. "Annabeth, I'm really sorry-"

She cut me off by tackling me with a hug. She pulled away just as fast.

"Where were you?" She stepped closer. In process, her foot brushed at a dead spider's carcass. She paled. "Sp-sp-spiders..."

I gently pulled her farther from all the spiders.

Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Arachnophobia. Something to do with the rivalry between Arachne and Athena." I explained putting my arms around her.

Annabeth shook her head, coming out of her terror induced daze. She looked at me. "Where was I? Oh, yeah." She punched my shoulder. "You idiot! Who in the right mind will let themselves get trapped in the Lotus hotel? While Grover and I walked blindlessly around the Labyrinth for who knows how long! Do you even use your brain? Or does it just sit there doing nothing?"

I laughed, hugging her closer. "I missed you too, Annabeth."


	74. Chapter 74

Mrs. O'Leary jumped on Percy and started licking him. He got up quickly and started to take out Riptide.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot." I told Percy. "I got you a dog."

"You call that a dog?" Percy looked at Mrs. O'Leary incredulously. She barked in protest. Percy reached out to pat her head. "Good girl." He looked at me. "Name?"

"Mrs. O'Leary, meet Percy." I introduced them.

Nico looked at Mrs. O'Leary. "Perfect. Now we can Shadow Travel to Elysium. Everyone get on."

We rode on Mrs. O'Leary. We went so fast, I hardly blinked.

Our surroundings changed. I stepped off Mrs. O'Leary. I looked around.

"Elysium." I breathed in. "Just as I remembered it."

Percy looked at me with worry. "Don't remind me."

It took a while to find them. As soon as I saw them, I ran to them. "Dad! Matthew!"

I felt my eyes well up. I couldn't help it. I blinked back the tears. "Matthew, you've grown. You look about five years old now." I looked at Nico. "Is that possible?"

He just shrugged.

Percy found his mom too.

Mrs. Jackson looked happy to see him But then she asked, "Why are you guys here? Don't tell me you're dead-, um, deceased too."

Together we hastily explained the events that happened the past few years and how we're going to get them back.

I grinned "We're busting you out of here."


	75. Chapter 75

Annabeth's POV

I went to talk to my dad.

"Dad, I can get you out of here. We can be a family again. Matthew will get along with Bobby, I just know it." I told him excitedly.

He looked at me with a pained expression. "Annabeth..."

I looked at him worriedly. "Yeah?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry. But I cannot go with you."

"Why not? If you're worried that it won't work, don't. We'll be fine." I said reassuringly. "Nico will help us. He's a son of Hades, you know."

"It's not that, Annabeth. I just don't think I belong in that world anymore. I have no place there." He replied gently.

"You'll fit in. You could get a job as a college professor again, and get a new house and..." My voice faltered. My dad was already shaking his head.

"I belong here now. I hope you understand." He told me.

I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath. I understood what he was saying but I didn't want to. "I understand what you're saying." I said slowly. "You want to stay here and rest already. In peace."

He nodded. "Take Matthew. He is still young. He will adapt to the land of the living."

I took Matthew's hand. "Good bye, dad."

Dad smiled sadly. "Take care." He turned to Percy. "I understand you are dating my daughter. Treat her with respect and take care of her for me. Okay?"

Percy nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir. I will."

My dad nodded again and turned to me "I want you to know that I am very proud of you. I will miss you, Annabeth. I love you."

My eyes teared up . "I'll miss you a lot. I love you too, dad."


	76. Chapter 76

Percy's POV

"You ready to go?" I asked my mom.

"Ready as ever." She took Matt's hand. "Let's go."

We managed to make it a few yards away from the rock opening when trouble happened.

"Wait," Annabeth stopped in her tracks. "Isn't that Circe?"

"What?" I turned around. "Who?"

"Some enchantress who likes to turn boys into pigs. We should go before she spots us." Annabeth whispered back.

Too late. She already did.

"Well," She exclaimed. "What do we have here?"

I gulped. I put my hand in my pocket, having Riptide ready.

"My, you look just like the people who wrecked my island." Circe purred. "Did you little naughties the ones who did that?"

I shook my head nervously.

"My bad. You look so much like him. Black hair, green eyes. Of course he had some useless vitamins with him." Circe wrinkled her nose. "Such a fad."

In the corner of my eye, I can see Annabeth pop something in her mouth. She passed some to everyone, pressing one into my hand. Before I had a chance to see what it is, Circe knocked it off my hand and crushed it under her foot.

"That's it." She held out some potion. "It is time for you to be who you really are."

I tried to move but there was something in her voice that held me in place.

"Percy! Don't drink anything she gives you!" Nico yelled helpfully.

I couldn't even roll my eyes at that.

Circe laughed. "Foolish boy. I went here to get an ingredient that would strengthen my potions. No more drinking required." She tossed a vial of a greenish liquid at me. It shattered at my feet and I began to shrink.

"Well, that's enough revenge for a day. I best get going. Ta-ta" She poofed out.


	77. Chapter 77

Percy shrank and then poof, he's a guinea pig. Oh, joy. I have a pet for a boyfriend. If anything, he got cuter.

"Don't just stand there! Help me!" Percy yelled frantically. Actually, what he really said was _Reet, reet, reet_. But I'm sure the translation went along those lines.

"Uh..." I thought hard. "I think those vitamin supplements will help.

"Well?" Percy squeaked. Again, I was just guessing.

"But you make a really cute guinea pig!" Nico snickered.

If guinea pigs can give deathly stares, that's what Percy was going for.

He squeaked some more.

"Okay, okay" I set down a chewable tablet.

Percy squeaked again.

"What now? Just chew through it, okay?" I said exasperated.

"It's always hard to get Percy to drink his vitamins." His mom said fondly. "And eat his vegetables. Boy, I remember when he was five and..."

That got Percy chewing. He nibbled through the whole thing in seconds. He turned back to a human. Or as close enough as Percy ever was.

"I was saying that I wanted the Orange flavored Minotaur ones." Percy dusted of his pants.

I helped him up. "I'm glad you're not a guinea pig, Seaweed Brain."

He smiled at me. "Me too."

"Aww." Mrs. Jackson squealed. "That was so sweet!"

We all looked her.

"Well, if I know Annabeth, then she isn't the one for mushy stuff. So that's probably the most romantic thing she said to Percy." She explained.

I blushed. I opened my mouth to protest when Nico smirked. "She's right, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "Let's keep going. I hope nothing else will get in our way.

I shouldn't have said that. Of course something else will. Something a lot more troublesome.

**A/N Come on, you guys! I only got one review the last time. So please? Pretty please?**


	78. Chapter 78

Percy's POV

"Here it is." Nico stepped to a cave like entrance.

I sighed in relief. I was surprised we would make it this far.

"Wait." Nico held up a hand before I could get in. "No one could get in unless..." He looked at Grover. "That's your queue."

Grover, who has been uncharacteristically silent the whole time, gulped and started to play a tune on his reed pipes.

The rocks started to tremble and move aside when a cold icy voice stopped us. "What do you think you're doing?"

We turned. Standing behind us was the goddess of springtime and the wife of Hades.

"Persephone." Nico spat out.

"Nico di Angelo. Why am I not surprised?" She replied in contempt.

Another goddess came up. Demeter. "What is it this time, Persephone?" She grumbled.

"Oh, nothing, Mother." Persephone replied. "We just had a little family spat."

"A little family spat?" Nico said incredulously. "You turned me into a dandelion!"

"Holding grudges aren't we?" She looked at us. "My, what do we have here? Is little Nico taking advantage while his daddy is not here? Hades will be most displeased when he comes back."

"Actually, we were just leaving." I put in. "So, uh, good bye."

"Not so fast. Hades put me in charge here. You couldn't escape that fast." Persephone sniffed in contempt.

"Can't you just look the other way?" I asked hopefully.

"Look, I'm sure we could work this out." Annabeth said. "I'm sure you are very reasonable goddesses."

Persephone still looked suspicious. But Demeter beamed in delight, making her Annabeth's victim.

"Lady Demeter. What a pleasure to meet you!" Annabeth exclaimed. "I always thought you as one of my favorite goddesses. Agriculture and cereal has been very useful to mankind."

I got to hand it to Annabeth. She was good. Not a trace of sarcasm at all.

"Besides, we just want to go home. No harm in that. In fact, I have a box of Frosted Flakes waiting for me at home. It's a new flavor and I can't wait to try it. And I just adore cereal." Annabeth was laying it a bit thick but Demeter ate it up.

"Come on, Persephone. They mean no harm. They're going to leave. Let's just let them go." Demeter told her daughter.

Persephone was reluctant to give up her authority. "But..."

"Let's go! I want to taste the new flavor of Frosted Flakes." Demeter exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. As long as I don't have to eat." Persephone grumbled. They flashed out.

I looked at Annabeth. "Great job. Now, let's get going."

**A/N Please review...**


	79. Chapter 79

I looked at the gaping hole. I stepped in.

"Wait!" Nico called out.

"Yeah?" I said rather impatiently.

"Final warning, whatever happens, don't look back. Not until we get there. Got it?" Nico looked dead serious.

"Got it." I echoed. Percy nodded.

Grover stepped in first. Nico came second. Percy and I came next. Then Percy's mom and Matt.

It was pith black. I couldn't see anything. Then I started to hear things.

At first it was just Matt mumbling my name. The screaming it out. And sobbing fearfully. It took all my willpower not to look back. I could hear his frightened and desperate voice yelling for help. I shut my eyes tight. Could they be in trouble? Should I check to make sure? Or is this a test of whether or not I will look back?

I clapped my hands on my ear. It was terrible. I could still hear his desperate wailings, telling me to come. I squeezed my hands to my ears harder. But it was no use. I could still hear it. Realization dawned to me. The voice was coming from my head.

I opened my eyes to glance at Percy. To see if he was experiencing the same thing. But it was no use. It was still as dark as ever.

Then I started to see flashes of things. Even with my eyes shut I could still see them. Creatures I can't describe. Monsters you can only see in your deepest and darkest nightmares. I saw all my loved ones dying over and over again. Each in different ways. Each one more gruesome than the first. But each of them had one thing in common: I was there, watching helplessly. With no power to do anything.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. I can't help it. Matt's screams were getting more and more deafening. I wanted to bad to look back.

I felt a hand reach for mine. Percy. Judging from how it was trembling, he was just as frightened as I was. I held his hand tighter. He wanted reassurance that someone else was done here. Someone alive, that is.

"Annabeth, please!" I heard Matthew yell. "You didn't help me the first time I died. Help me now! Please! Why aren't you doing anything? PLEASE!"

I felt my body stiffen. I just had to look. Just one look. Just to make sure he was okay. I stopped moving.

Percy, who was still clutching on to my arm, pulled me forward. I forced my legs to move. I reminded myself to keep moving.

For what seems like hours, we kept moving. It was only minutes, but it seemed like forever. With each passing second, I become surer that we won't make it. I saw a tiny dot of light up ahead. Hope surged through me. As I clanged to that hope, I ran up ahead. The light became larger and larger as I went nearer.

I felt the wind blow on my face. I opened my eyes to see the familiar skyline of New York City. We made it.

**A/N: Enjoying it so far? Review!**


	80. Chapter 80

"Crazy, huh?" Annabeth said, handing me a pudding cup.

"Nothing you can't handle." Spooning chocolate pudding into my mouth.

We watched Bobby and Matthew spilling LEGO while they built a "building".

We were at Annabeth's house. Mrs. Chase invited us to celebrate her adopting of Matthew. Apparently, Matthew somehow survived the 9/11 incident and was put in another orphanage. And Annabeth and I managed to track him down. Mrs. Chase happily welcomed him to his family. She was happily chatting with my mom, who didn't die in the building because she called in sick that day to celebrate my birthday. She stayed in the hospital all these years to receive treatment for her "trauma". Of course, the Mist made our story a whole lot believable.

"Come on; let's go see what your brothers are up too." I headed over to Matthew and Bobby. "Hey, boys. What are you building? Is that a house?"

Bobby threw a block at me. "No, you nincompoop! It's the Empire Building. The tallest structure in New York City!"

Matthew crossed his arms. "Yeah, nincompoop."

"Taught them to love architecture, huh?" I rubbed the part of my arm where the block hit. "And a few choice vocabulary words."

Annabeth grinned at me. Then she turned to the boys. "Now, you guys don't call Percy a nincompoop."

"But he is!" Bobby protested.

"That's why you call him a Seaweed Brain." Matthew added.

"Even if he is a nincompoop-"

"Hey!" I broke in.

"It doesn't mean you have to bully him about it." Annabeth continued. "Besides, what would Helen say about it?"

"We could tell her that it's our brother bonding thing." Bobby suggested.

"Yeah. Mom always allows us if we tell her that." Matthew agreed.

Annabeth laughed and shook her head. "Smart allecks."

"Wise Girl!" They chorused simultaneously

"Now, why don't you two run off and get a snack?" I suggested.

"You just wanted to be alone with our sister." Matthew accused.

I felt my face redden. "There's chocolate pudding."

That did it. They raced off to the kitchen.

I inhaled the rest of my chocolate pudding. I looked around and I liked what I saw. Our moms swapping baby stories, Matt and Bobby spilling chocolate pudding everywhere as they helped themselves and Annabeth going on beside me about the smear of chocolate I seem to have spilled on my chin.

I took a mental picture and saved it.

**A/N We're almost there. Please review. **


	81. Chapter 81

Percy finally wiped the sticky mess on his face.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"Oh, nothing." He looked at me. "Annabeth, I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Yeah?"

"About that time in the Underworld. I did something really regret. Look, I'm really sorry that I got mad and just walked away. I'm really sorry. I promise you that I'll never leave you again." His voice cracked a little. "I could have lost... You could have..."

I took his hand and squeezed it. "I know."

He gave me a grateful smile.

Then I squeezed even harder. "But you better not leave like that again or the Underworld monsters will be the least of your problems. Get it?"

"Yeah, I got it. ...Seriously, Annabeth. I got it! Ow! Annabeth!" Percy yelped. "I promise! I promise! Just let go!"

I let go of his hand. He flexed it, trying to let the blood circulate again. I grinned.

"Nice grip." He muttered.

I just smiled.

Then I looked out the window. "It's mind-blowing, what we just did. I mean, bringing someone from the Underworld. It's never been done."

Percy smiled. "We're demigods. That's what we do."

**A/N... The End...**

**But if you want another sequel to this, I suggest you go on and share this story to your friends, and maybe review more chapters. Because if I go past my goal, I write more for this.**


End file.
